DOJ charges 2 Chinese nationals who allegedly ran overseas cryptocurrency scam center targeting Americans

By Fox News · Fox News

The Justice Department unveiled charges Thursday against two Chinese nationals allegedly behind an overseas cryptocurrency scam center, as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro vowed that the Trump administration is "just getting started" in combating these schemes. Pirro told reporters in Washington, D.C., that cyber-enabled and cryptocurrency investment fraud is "among the fastest growing and the most financially devastating form of cybercrime that is targeting Americans today." The DOJ’s actions come after Pirro launched the Scam Center Strike Force in November last year, following an executive order from President Donald Trump. "Today, we announce significant milestones in that fight. We have charged Chinese bosses who ran a scam compound in Burma where thousands were trafficked, enslaved, beaten and then forced to steal from Americans for years. We have seized also a Telegram channel, and that channel was luring workers into a forced compound in Cambodia," Pirro said. "There they were ordered to pose as U.S. banks, as the New York City Police Department, to steal Americans’ life savings." "We have taken down more than 500 websites. They were used to steal Americans life savings. My office is going to continue to work to identify the funds stolen," Pirro added. "We have also restrained more than $700 million in cryptocurrency from U.S. victims of fraud. The administration of President Trump is lockstep in combating these scams, and we are just getting started." PIRRO WARNS CAR THEFT RING USED NEW TECH TO QUICKLY ACCESS VEHICLES: 'GONE IN 60 SECONDS' The Justice Department said the two Chinese nationals, identified as Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Jie, were arrested in Thailand earlier this year after allegedly being linked to "cryptocurrency investment fraud operations" out of the Shunda compound in Burma. The pair were charged with wire fraud conspiracy and the U.S. is working to extradite them to face justice on American soil, according to P…