DOJ $225M Pig Butchering Seizure Campaign (2026)

1 May 2023

Shan Hanes, CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank (Elkhart, Kansas), begins transferring bank funds to a pig butchering scam address, ultimately sending $47.1 million across 10 wire transfers through July 2023.

28 June 2023

Shan Hanes sends 3,116,350 USDT from Heartland Tri-State Bank to a fraud deposit address later identified in the DOJ's $225 million forfeiture complaint.

1 July 2023

Heartland Tri-State Bank collapses and is taken over by the FDIC following the $47.1 million embezzlement by CEO Shan Hanes.

1 May 2024

Shan Hanes pleads guilty to one count of embezzlement as a bank officer.

21 August 2024

Shan Hanes sentenced to 293 months (approximately 24 years) in federal prison — the longest white-collar sentence in Kansas federal court history.

1 January 2025

Shunda scam compound begins operations in Min Let Pan, Myanmar.

18 June 2025

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia files civil forfeiture complaint seeking approximately $225,364,961 in USDT — the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.S. Secret Service history. Over 430 victims identified; 93 scam deposit addresses, 35 consolidation wallets, and 144 OKX accounts cited in complaint.

25 July 2025

Zoomex spoof domains (zoomex-net.com, zoomex-pay.com) subject USDT frozen by Tether at law enforcement request — approximately 20 months before the July 2026 civil complaint.

8 October 2025

Federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York returns indictment against Chen Zhi, chairman of Prince Holding Group (Cambodia), charging wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy for alleged operation of forced-labor pig butchering compounds.

14 October 2025

DOJ files civil forfeiture complaint for approximately 127,271 Bitcoin (~$15 billion), the largest forfeiture action in DOJ history, in the Eastern District of New York (No. 1:25-cv-05745). OFAC simultaneously designates 146 individuals and entities tied to Prince Holding Group.

15 October 2025

FinCEN issues Section 311 final rule severing Cambodia's Huione Group — alleged to have laundered over $4 billion — from the U.S. financial system.

1 November 2025

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia establishes the Scam Center Strike Force under U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

1 November 2025

Shunda scam compound in Min Let Pan, Myanmar seized by the Karen National Liberation Army; defendants Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Jie flee but are arrested by Thai authorities in early 2026.

1 January 2026

Tether freezes funds associated with the $78 million BitaGold/SteemFly/Smart Labs/Bdswg.com network — the subject of the July 2026 civil complaint 26-cv-2542.

26 January 2026

UK National Crime Agency refers a British victim case to U.S. authorities, leading to the July 2026 recovery-fraud civil complaint 26-cv-2541 involving impersonation of the NCA, CatLabs, and HMRC.

25 February 2026

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announces seizure of $61 million in USDT linked to pig butchering investment scams, in cooperation with Homeland Security Investigations and Tether.

26 February 2026

D.C. Scam Center Strike Force announces total frozen and seized cryptocurrency from Chinese transnational criminal networks has surpassed $580 million in approximately three months of operation.

1 March 2026

FBI Operation Level Up reaches 8,935 victim notifications; 77% of notified victims were unaware of the scam; 93 referred for suicide intervention; $562 million in losses estimated as prevented.

1 March 2026

Southern District of California grand jury returns indictment against Thet Min Nyi (also known as Ko Thet, Pixy), alleged manager and recruiter for Ko Thet Company pig butchering operations (26CR762-RSH).

1 April 2026

Southern District of California criminal complaints charge Wiliang Awang, Andreas Chandra, Lisa Mariam, and a fugitive co-defendant with wire fraud conspiracy for Sanduo Group and Giant Company pig butchering operations (26MJ2335-AHG; 26MJ2437-AHG).

8 May 2026

DOJ announces coordinated international operation: at least 276 arrests (275 by Dubai Police, 1 by Royal Thai Police), dismantlement of at least nine scam centers, $701 million in cryptocurrency restrained, and 503 .com domains seized. Named defendants Awang and Chandra among those arrested in Dubai.

27 May 2026

Tether freezes USDT address associated with the fraudulent investment platform that is the subject of July 2026 civil complaint 26-cv-2543.

21 July 2026

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia files five civil forfeiture complaints targeting over $25 million in USDT across five distinct fraud schemes (26-cv-2539 through 26-cv-2543), naming fraudulent platforms MicMarkets, Zoomex spoof domains, BitaGold, SteemFly, Smart Labs, Bdswg.com, and CatLabs (recovery fraud).