U.S. authorities have seized over $580 million in cryptocurrency in under three months, targeting large-scale fraud networks. The Scam Center Strike Force, a multi-agency group, executed these actions against “pig-butchering” scams linked to Chinese criminal organizations in Southeast Asia. Officials state the pace highlights aggressive new efforts to intercept illicit crypto flows, with an estimated $10 billion stolen from Americans annually through such schemes.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced the milestone seizure, marking one of its most aggressive enforcement actions against crypto-enabled fraud. Prosecutors said the funds were stolen from U.S. victims through “pig-butchering” schemes.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated the rapid seizures underscore how aggressively federal agencies are moving to intercept illicit crypto. Officials estimate crypto-related scams siphon nearly $10 billion a year from Americans.
The Scam Center Strike Force, launched in late 2025, carried out the seizures to target investment fraud linked to Chinese transnational criminal groups. The multi-agency initiative includes the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and the IRS Criminal Investigation unit.
Authorities say their focus extends beyond wallet seizures to identifying organizers and operators in Southeast Asia. Their core objective is returning recovered funds to victims “to the maximum extent possible.”
Arkham data show the U.S. government holds a sizable on-chain crypto portfolio from enforcement actions. Bitcoin dominates these holdings, accounting for over $21.5 billion.
The Strike Force’s results suggest a shift from reactive policing toward sustained, centralized enforcement against crypto fraud. As blockchain transparency improves, crypto is becoming less of a hiding place for large-scale scammers.
