New Task Force Aims at Global Romance Scams; US Sanctions Myanmar Ring
New Strike Force Set to Target Overseas 'Pig Butchering' as U.S. Hits Burma Operation
U.S. agencies are forming a Fraud Center Strike Force to combat the widespread schemes that pilfer funds through crypto transfers.
By Jesse Hamilton|Edited by Nikhilesh DeUpdated Nov 12, 2025, 7:12 p.m. Published Nov 12, 2025, 4:44 p.m.
What to know:
- As U.S. officials revealed the most recent extensive measure to target Southeast Asian scam schemes that are siphoning off billions in crypto from Americans, they stated they are creating a new strike force to organize such endeavors.
- The announcement followed the Department of the Treasury’s issuance of comprehensive penalties against entities and individuals allegedly implicated in Burmese scam hubs.
American governmental bodies are escalating their reaction to international cons that endeavor to dupe individuals into dispatching crypto, with the Treasury Department unveiling a Scam Center Strike Force this Wednesday, even as it highlighted its latest attempt to target a Burmese operation that preyed on Americans with bogus investment opportunities.
American authorities, also including the Justice Department, are establishing the strike force to pursue so-called "pig butchering," typically coordinated by expansive organized-crime networks in regions like Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines. The latest instance involved the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control placing sanctions on armed factions, corporations, and individuals in Burma associated with the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and scam centers believed to be supported by Chinese criminal organizations.
The strike force, spearheaded by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, intends to dismantle the international illicit organizations in Southeast Asia that have defrauded Americans of tens of billions – much of which goes unreported. This scheme involves teams of operators – frequently coerced into it through human trafficking – laboring at a mass scale to deceive individuals into fraudulent investments or into transferring funds to deceptive romantic partners.
"The Administration will continue to utilize every resource at our disposal to pursue these cybercriminals — no matter where they function — and to safeguard American families from their exploitation," remarked Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley, in a public statement.
The strike force anticipates leveraging various components of the federal government with regulatory responsibilities pertaining to this domain, encompassing DOJ, the Treasury Department, the State Department, and national law enforcement agencies.
"The magnitude is astounding," commented Ari Redbord, global head of policy and government affairs for TRM labs, regarding the global criminal syndicates engaged in pig butchering. "The DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force underscores a stark reality: no single entity can confront this alone."
Comparatively, the DOJ has previously instituted a health care strike force and a trade-fraud task force.
Last month, U.S. officials targeted Prince Group, which was alleged to have managed a Cambodia operation, with the DOJ undertaking what it characterized as its most substantial seizure ever of 127,271 bitcoin . This action was coordinated between the DOJ and the Treasury.
In Burma, the proliferation of scam hubs was attributed by U.S. authorities to others among the sanctioned organizations, including Trans Asia International Holding Group Thailand Company Ltd. (Trans Asia), Troth Star Co. Ltd. (Troth Star) and Thai national Chamu Sawang. The sanctions implicated them in connections to Chinese organized crime, and authorities indicated that the earnings are being used to finance Burma’s civil conflict.
