A single American victim lost 16 million dollars in cryptocurrency between June and August 2024 in a pig butchering romance scam. The US justice department filed money laundering charges on September 25 against Trung Nguyen Van, a 37-year-old Vietnamese man suspected of laundering part of the funds. This type of fraud, combining online seduction and fake trading platforms, cost American investors 7.2 billion dollars in 2025, according to the IC3 annual report, the FBI’s complaint center, representing a 22 percent increase in one year. Scam operations are primarily based in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, and generative AI now facilitates the creation of fake profiles, photos, and videos. In response, the US Department of Justice seized approximately 127,271 bitcoins worth roughly 15 billion dollars in October 2025, targeting Cambodian conglomerate Prince Group.
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