Law enforcement agencies across several countries worked in concert to dismantle a sprawling cryptocurrency scam network that targeted Americans, arresting hundreds and closing multiple alleged scam centers in a coordinated operation.
A multinational law enforcement effort led to the arrest of at least 276 people and the shutdown of about nine scam centers that presented themselves as cryptocurrency investment firms. Agencies including the FBI, the Dubai Police Department, and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security identified these centers as operations that lured victims into fake crypto schemes and siphoned off millions. The coordination stretched across continents and used parallel investigations to hit multiple locations at once.
The Dubai Police Department, operating under the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Interior, drove the recent crackdown and worked closely with partners overseas. Dubai authorities alone detained roughly 275 suspects, and the Royal Thai Police made at least one additional arrest tied to the probe. Among those linked to federal charges in the United States are several defendants now facing indictments in the Southern District of California.
Thet Min Nyi, 27, a Burmese national, Wiliang Awang, 23, an Indonesian national, Andreas Chandra, 29, an Indonesian national, Lisa Mariam, 29, an Indonesian national, and two fugitive co-conspirators have been charged with federal fraud and money laundering charges unsealed in San Diego today. Dubai Police apprehended Thet Min Nyi, Chandra, and Mariam, while the Royal Thai Police apprehended Awang. Those arrests followed an FBI San Diego Homeland Security Task Force investigation launched in 2025 after agents flagged companies and individuals running organized scam compounds.
“Fraudsters who target Americans from overseas cannot operate with impunity, no matter where in the world they reside,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The charges and arrests announced today reflect an international consensus that scam centers are unwelcome everywhere and must be rooted out. Scam center organizers and fraudsters who defraud Americans and others will face justice in American courts and in courts around the world. In contemporary society, fraud is borderless, and law enforcement activity to combat it and eliminate it is as well.”
Court records and charging documents accuse the San Diego defendants of managing, staffing, and recruiting for several branded operations that allegedly ran the scam compounds. The companies named in filings include “Ko Thet Company,” “Sanduo Group,” and “Giant Company,” which prosecutors say served as fronts for coordinated crypto investment fraud. Victims were approached, cultivated, and steered toward phony investment platforms designed to hand control of funds to the scammers.
The federal complaints list the primary charges tied to these schemes and the potential penalties for those convicted. The charges include wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, each carrying severe prison terms and fines meant to match the scale of the harms. Investigators emphasize that the legal tools exist to pursue organizers and enablers both at home and abroad.
- Wire fraud conspiracy — Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison; fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of the gain or loss
- Money laundering conspiracy — Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison; fine of $500,000 or twice the amount of the gain or loss
“These scammers thought they were safe half a world away,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California. “But their world has changed. Global crime now faces global justice.” The tactics described by prosecutors fall into a pattern often called pig-butchering, in which scammers build trust through social contact before pressuring victims to send money to sham crypto investments. Those transfers typically end up on fake platforms under the scammers’ control.
“This operation demonstrates the FBI’s steadfast commitment to preventing scammers from further defrauding the American people,” said Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Division. “We can’t do this work alone, and we are proud to coordinate and collaborate with our partners to hold accountable those who work to enable and facilitate these scams.” FBI investigators traced victim complaints and financial records to identify victims across the United States and to estimate losses tied to the organized efforts.
“Today’s indictment demonstrates the FBI’s determination to identify, disrupt, and dismantle these global scam centers defrauding Americans no matter where they set up shop,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “FBI San Diego will continue to coordinate with our law enforcement, private sector, and international partners to protect victims from cryptocurrency fraud, stop losses before they happen, and recover victim funds where we can.” Those recovery efforts included interviews, blockchain tracing, and cross-border evidence sharing.
Prosecutors say the alleged operators regularly bragged about fake returns, coaxed victims to borrow or take loans to invest more, and then routed those funds into accounts under their control. Once transferred, victims effectively lost access as criminals laundered the proceeds through other crypto accounts. Investigators have identified millions of dollars in losses across jurisdictions tied to these schemes.
In related filings, a Southern District of California grand jury returned an indictment in March 2026 against Thet Min Nyi and a fugitive co-defendant on wire fraud and money laundering charges, and in April 2026 criminal complaints charged Awang, Chandra, Mariam, and another fugitive co-defendant in schemes tied to Sanduo Group and Giant Company. Parallel investigations by Dubai police and assistance from Thailand’s Royal Thai Police helped locate and apprehend key subjects.
Private-sector assistance also played a role in the probe, with the documents noting that Meta Platforms, Inc. provided critical information for the investigation. The cases are being handled by prosecutors and trial attorneys in the Southern District of California and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, with support from the Department’s Office of International Affairs. The broader effort ties into task force work aimed at dismantling transnational criminal networks using cyber tools and offshore operations.
Law enforcement officials point to earlier initiatives as context for this operation, noting that FBI San Diego-led efforts have already notified thousands of potential victims and helped save significant sums from fraud. Agencies stress that international coordination remains the most effective way to shut down scam compounds and hold foreign-based fraudsters to account under both domestic law and international cooperation agreements.
