The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Chen Zhi, chairman of the Prince Group, with operating forced‑labor scam compounds in Cambodia that ran large‑scale 'pig‑butchering' crypto investment schemes. Authorities filed a civil forfeiture seeking roughly 127,271 bitcoin and described extensive money‑laundering through casinos, shell companies and luxury purchases.

The Justice Department's October 2025 indictment alleges Chen Zhi led a transnational criminal enterprise that used trafficked workers in Cambodian compounds to run fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes that defrauded victims worldwide. Prosecutors describe 'pig‑butchering' operations that cultivated victims, convinced them to transfer large sums into crypto wallets, and then laundered proceeds through casinos, shell corporations and high‑end purchases. Alongside criminal charges, DOJ filed a civil forfeiture seeking approximately 127,271 bitcoin — an action prosecutors say represents the largest forfeiture by value in the department's history, with seized assets valued at more than $14 billion. The filing aims both to punish operators and to disrupt the financial infrastructure facilitating the scams. The department also highlighted coordination with Treasury and international partners to trace flows and to address the human‑trafficking dimensions of the case, signaling broad US enforcement priorities against crypto fraud and exploitation tied to organized crime.