WASHINGTON
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced a major federal action Wednesday targeting an illicit Chinese-language marketplace operating on Telegram that hosted more than 650,000 users. Authorities allege the platform facilitated the creation of fake investment sites, money laundering, and human trafficking.
The human trafficking victims were forced to work in scam compounds across Southeast Asia. The operation resulted in 276 arrests globally and dismantled at least nine overseas cryptocurrency scam centers that had stolen millions of dollars from American citizens.
Pirro launched the Scam Center Strike Force in November 2025 to combat the growing threat posed by Chinese organized crime syndicates operating scam centers primarily out of Southeast Asia.
Pirro joined British officials in Washington to announce a joint U.S.-UK alliance designed to dismantle global scam centers. The coordinated international effort targets the infrastructure supporting these fraud operations.
