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Summary
While the Department of Justice (DOJ) has retreated from certain cryptocurrency enforcement matters, it remains keenly focused on protecting cryptocurrency investors from fraud. To that end, on November 12, 2025, the DOJ and major federal law enforcement agencies announced the launch of the Scam Center Strike Force to combat large-scale cryptocurrency investment fraud.
The Scam Center Strike Force—an interagency, "whole-of-government" effort—seeks to dismantle criminal networks in Asia that have, in the government's estimate, defrauded Americans of nearly $10 billion per year through cryptocurrency investment schemes. Citing the administration's desire for the United States to be a global center of the cryptocurrency industry, the DOJ has called on companies to support the Strike Force, and protect U.S. infrastructure from being used to perpetrate these frauds. Companies in the United States should anticipate receiving requests from the government to take proactive measures that prevent domestic infrastructure from being used to facilitate these scams, and to provide information to the government in a timely manner to identify ongoing threats.
The Upshot- Confidence scams, sometimes known as "pig butchering" scams, typically involve fraudsters who build relationships with victims to steer those victims into fake cryptocurrency investments and steal their money.
- In creating the Scam Center Strike Force, the government is building on its aggressive, multiagency approach to combatting these frauds. In 2025 alone, the government has taken numerous, large-scale enforcement actions to combat cryptocurrency frauds, including the largest-ever seizure of bitcoin.
- While the government has stepped away from certain types of cryptocurrency enforcement cases, the government's announcement is nonetheless consistent with the administration's stated priorities to protect cryptocurrency investors and pursue those who misuse U.S. infrastructure to facilitate fraud.
- The government has expressly called on U.S. companies to partner with this effort.
- This announcement comes alongside the government's recent pronouncements on white collar enforcement, including the continued emphasis on rapid voluntary self-reporting by companies.
In announcing its white collar criminal enforcement priorities this past spring, the Trump administration specifically directed prosecutors to "focus on prosecuting inpiduals who victimize digital asset investors."
The Scam Center Strike Force, announced on the heels of significant criminal and forfeiture actions in this space, reflects the DOJ's commitment to those priorities. Coupled with District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro's call for U.S. companies to work with the Strike Force, U.S. corporations—especially financial institutions, social media companies, and internet service providers—should expect increased requests for information to assist in the Strike Force's investigations.
U.S. companies should also ensure that their compliance programs can detect the misuse of domestic infrastructure by online cryptocurrency fraudsters, and consider whether any voluntary reports are warranted, especially considering the DOJ's ongoing emphasis on rapid and voluntary self-disclosure.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a new Scam Center Strike Force to combat large-scale cryptocurrency investment schemes known as "pig butchering." The new task force, announced by United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Ferris Pirro, brings together various DOJ components, federal law enforcement agencies, and regulatory partners to turbocharge investigations, increase asset seizures, and secure U.S.-based infrastructure enabling these schemes.
What is the Scam Center Strike Force?
As part of its broader push to disrupt large-scale cryptocurrency fraud, the government has signaled it will "use all government tools available" and take a whole-of-government approach. According to the DOJ, "[t]he new Scam Center Strike Force combines the power, reach, and resources of the U.S. Attorney's Office, with the Department of Justice's Criminal pision, the FBI, and the Secret Service to crack down and disrupt these schemes." The Strike Force will also partner with the State Department, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Department of Commerce.
The Scam Center Strike Force is specifically targeting criminal networks that perpetrate "pig butchering" and other confidence-based investment schemes, where scammers cultivate long-term relationships to induce victims to transfer funds to purportedly legitimate digital-asset platforms. Fraudsters typically contact victims through unsolicited messages or social media, present fabricated investment returns, and ultimately seize the victims' assets. According to the DOJ, these schemes are run at an industrial scale by transnational criminal organizations often operating out of Southeast Asia. The DOJ estimates that "this scam industry defrauds Americans of nearly $10 billion per year," and, according to U.S. Attorney Pirro, has resulted in "a generational wealth transfer from Main Street America into the pockets of Chinese organized crime."
The Strike Force's focus on these schemes aligns with the Trump administration's white-collar enforcement priorities, which specifically direct prosecutors to pursue inpiduals "who victimize digital asset investors."
Has there been recent enforcement activity related to these schemes?
Recent enforcement activity reflects the government's multipronged strategy against both the operators of scam compounds and the infrastructure that enables them. To date, the task force has seized and forfeited more than $401 million in cryptocurrency obtained through these schemes. Additional major actions include the following:
- Indictment of the Chairman of the Prince Group and Seizure of 127,000 Bitcoin: In October 2025, the DOJ seized over 127,000 bitcoin, linked to forced-labor scam compounds, in what the DOJ described as the largest bitcoin forfeiture in history, and charged the Chairman of the Prince Group with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.
- Sanctions of Funnull Technology: In May 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Funnull Technology, a Philippine-based company enabling hundreds of thousands of scam websites, connected to more than $200 million in U.S. victim losses.
- Sanctions of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army: In November 2025, OFAC sanctioned the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and related entities for supporting scam operations. John K. Hurley, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, noted that "[c]riminal networks operating out of Burma are stealing billions of dollars from hardworking Americans through online scams."
What are the implications for U.S. companies?
In its announcement, the DOJ emphasized that scammers are weaponizing U.S. infrastructure—such as financial institutions, social media platforms, and internet service providers—to reach and ultimately defraud Americans. U.S. Attorney Pirro states the government intends to "[w]ork[ ] together in public-private partnership. . .[to] secure the U.S. infrastructure, which is being used as an instrument to defraud Americans in these scams." To that end, Pirro highlighted that several major technology companies have already expressed interest in collaborating with the Strike Force.
As the Strike Force ramps up its operations, companies should anticipate a more active posture from federal agencies. We anticipate that law enforcement agencies will make increasingly frequent and coordinated requests for data and to combat cryptocurrency frauds. At the same time, U.S. companies should anticipate greater scrutiny of their internal controls for detecting online fraud, account abuse, and digital-asset transactions.
U.S. companies whose operations are considered part of "U.S. infrastructure"—such as financial institutions, social media companies, and internet service providers—should additionally ensure that their monitoring systems are calibrated to detect red flags associated with pig butchering activity, with reference to the Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) alert. Where those indicators arise, institutions are expected to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) that include detailed technical information. Companies may also want to revisit prior customer complaints involving social engineering schemes, crypto-investment solicitations or unusual customer activity, to identify existing compliance vulnerabilities and potentially reportable incidents.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
