Overview
- The FBI, Dubai Police and China’s Ministry of Public Security led a coordinated sweep announced Wednesday that shut at least nine scam centers and resulted in 276 arrests.
- U.S. prosecutors in the Southern District of California unsealed wire fraud and money laundering cases against six suspects, naming Thet Min Nyi, Wiliang Awang, Andreas Chandra and Lisa Mariam, with Dubai detaining three and Thai police arresting one.
- The networks used “pig-butchering” tactics that build trust through online friendships or romances, push victims onto fake crypto platforms, and then route the money through other accounts.
- An FBI effort called Operation Level Up has notified nearly 9,000 potential victims and, according to officials, helped prevent about $562 million in losses tied to similar schemes.
- Earlier actions tied to the same investigative arc froze about $580 million in cryptocurrency and seized thousands of devices, and investigators say they are still tracing funds and pursuing fugitive co-conspirators.