The US has seized $15 billion in bitcoin. This is how the terrifying “pig slaughter” crypto scam works

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has confiscated about 15 billion dollars in the form of bitcoin. This fortune was in the hands of an alleged fraudster named Chen Zhi who supervised a gigantic crypto scam. One that sadly is becoming more and more frequent and is now known as the “pig slaughter” or the “pig fattening.” The name is a no-brainer.

what has happened. We are facing the largest asset seizure in the history of the DoJ. The action focuses on the founder and president of an international conglomerate called Prince Holding Group based in Cambodia. Chen Zhi, 38, also known as “Vincent,” has been charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering. The scam used has many peculiarities.

The “pig slaughter”. In English they use the name “pig butchering” for this type of crypto scam, and here we could translate it as “pig slaughter” or “pig fattening.” The process that scammers follow to deceive their victims is as follows:

1. Search and contact: Scammers contact victims (the “pigs”) through social media, dating apps, or direct messages. To do this, they use fake and attractive profiles.
2. Fattening (trust building): for weeks a personal, friendly or romantic relationship is builtand the scammer gains the trust of the victim. This scammer usually presents himself as a successful person with “secret” knowledge in the world of investments.
3. You invest, you will earn a lot of money: once trust is gained, the scammer presents the victim with a “guaranteed” and very lucrative investment opportunity, usually in cryptocurrencies.
4. And indeed, it seems that you win: after a small investment and to reinforce hope and confidence, the scammer allows the victim to withdraw a small profit. The victim becomes even more confident.
5. Invest more, this works– With the victim now encouraged, he is persuaded to invest much larger amounts, often emptying his savings or even taking out loans
6. The slaughter: When the scammer determines that the victim has invested all they can, they execute the fraud. It blocks the victim’s withdrawal of funds and denies access to that account. Excuses (taxes, verification fees) are made to try to request even more money
7. Disappearance: The scammer cuts off all communication, the fraudulent platform disappears and the victim’s money has been stolen and laundered by the criminal network.

A multinational scam. According to prosecutors in the case, Prince Group operates in more than 30 countries and secretly grew to become “one of the largest transnational criminal organizations in Asia.” The company presented itself as a legitimate real estate development and financial services company.

Dumb with studies. Although it may seem incredible, this scam manages to deceive people with advanced training. Grace Yuen of Gaso—an international anti-scam organization— explained on BBC that this type of fraud affects all types of profiles, even those that we would think would be somewhat more protected:

“About 80% or more of the victims have university degrees and a large percentage of them have a master’s or doctorate. They are victims of all branches: from nurses and lawyers to computer scientists or telecommunications engineers. They are all highly educated people, usually between the ages of 24 and the end of 40. Although now we are also seeing older victims.”

human trafficking. The organization allegedly operated forced labor camps in Cambodia. According to the indictment, Prince Group operated at least 10 complexes of this type in which hundreds of people were forced to work under threat of violence executing this scam with victims from all over the world. Two of the facilities were equipped with 1,250 mobile phones that controlled 76,000 accounts on a popular social media platform.

Bribes. According to the investigation, Zhi and his network of managers managed to use their political influence in several countries to protect their criminal network. Thus, they are accused of paying bribes to public officials to prevent law enforcement from dismantling these operations. The stolen money was laundered through online gambling or cryptocurrency mining platforms, as well as spent on trips on private jets or yachts and also on works of art.

On the run. The accusation of the DoJ has been added to that of the US Department of the Treasury. Said organism has imposed sanctions against Zhi and more than 100 associated individuals and entities. Chen Zhi, of Chinese origin, has become a fugitive, and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted and arrested.

Image | Kanchanara

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