Prince Group Charged with Crypto Fraud and Money Laundering
U.S. prosecutors have charged Cambodia’s Prince Group and its chairman,Chen Zhi,with wire fraud and money laundering. The group, led by Chen, a dual citizen of Cambodia and the UK, was behind a massive crypto scam empire.
Prince Group, which appeared to be a legitimate multinational business, was actually a criminal empire. It exploited thousands of victims through crypto scams, human trafficking, and money laundering. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted Chen for orchestrating a transnational network that defrauded investors and laundered illicit funds.
Chen controlled at least ten scam compounds in Cambodia, were trafficked workers were forced to run “pig butchering” scams.These scams targeted victims worldwide, including the U.S. The compounds had “phone farms” with thousands of mobile phones and social media accounts used for scams.
Chen and his associates used stolen funds to fund a lavish lifestyle, including private jets and luxury properties. They concealed their wealth through complex money laundering channels, including cryptocurrency. Authorities seized 127,271 Bitcoin from Chen’s network.
chen faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.He remains at large, but international efforts to locate him are ongoing. Prince Group has been labeled a transnational criminal organization, and those associated with it have been sanctioned in the U.S.
