DOJ Seizes $15B Bitcoin in Largest Forfeiture Case

The $15 billion Bitcoin seizure represents a landmark moment in the U.S. government’s escalating campaign against cryptocurrency-enabled crime. Federal authorities identified and secured the massive BTC holdings from wallets controlled by Chen Zhi, a 38-year-old Chinese emigre who prosecutors allege built one of Asia’s largest transnational criminal organizations through his Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group. The seizure dwarfs all previous forfeiture actions in DOJ history, highlighting both the scale of the criminal operation and the growing sophistication of federal cryptocurrency tracking capabilities.

According to court documents unsealed in Brooklyn federal court, Zhi faces charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy that could result in up to 40 years imprisonment if convicted. However, the alleged scam mastermind remains at large, complicating what authorities describe as one of the most complex international financial crime investigations ever undertaken. The U.S. Treasury Department has simultaneously designated Prince Group as a transnational criminal organization and imposed sanctions against Zhi and over 100 associates, effectively freezing their access to the global financial system.

Federal prosecutors revealed disturbing details about the operation’s infrastructure, alleging that Zhi’s organization maintained ten forced-labor compounds across Cambodia where workers were held against their will and compelled to participate in cryptocurrency investment fraud. These ‘industrial-scale’ operations transformed human trafficking victims into unwilling participants in sophisticated financial crimes, creating what US Attorney Joseph Noella described as ‘untold misery to victims around the world, including here in New York, on the backs of individuals who have been trafficked and forced to work against their will.’

The Prince Holding Group, which prosecutors say operates businesses in over 30 countries, secretly evolved from a legitimate multinational conglomerate into a criminal enterprise that systematically exploited both its captive workforce and unsuspecting victims worldwide. Court filings detail how hundreds of individuals were trafficked and confined in compound facilities, where they were forced to execute the very scams that generated the $15 billion in Bitcoin now seized by authorities. This dual exploitation model—targeting both the laborers running the scams and the investors being defrauded—represents a disturbing evolution in organized crime methodology.

The criminal operation specialized in ‘pig butchering’ scams, a term derived from the practice of fattening livestock before slaughter. In these sophisticated fraud schemes, perpetrators initially contact potential victims through social media platforms and dating apps, gradually building relationships and trust over weeks or months. Once sufficient rapport is established, the scammers introduce cryptocurrency investment opportunities with promises of substantial returns, carefully guiding victims through the process of transferring funds and digital assets into accounts controlled by the criminal organization.

Authorities emphasized that the scam perpetrators ‘often built relationships with their victims over time, earning their trust before stealing their funds.’ Victims were led to believe they were making legitimate cryptocurrency investments, when in reality ‘the funds were stolen from the victims and laundered for the benefit of the perpetrators.’ The scale of these operations—conducted through forced labor compounds across Cambodia—enabled the organization to target thousands of victims simultaneously, resulting in billions of dollars in losses across the United States and globally.

The case highlights growing concerns about cryptocurrency’s role in enabling sophisticated transnational crime. While the $15 billion Bitcoin seizure demonstrates law enforcement’s increasing capability to track and recover illicit digital assets, it also underscores the challenges posed by criminal organizations that leverage both traditional human trafficking and cutting-edge financial technology. As the investigation continues and Zhi remains at large, authorities face the complex task of dismantling a criminal network that has embedded itself across multiple jurisdictions and business sectors.