Key Highlights
- Trung Nguyen Van, 37, was charged with money laundering over his alleged role in a crypto pig-butchering scam involving about $16 million from one victim.
- Van’s crypto wallets allegedly received about $53.28 million in assets linked to wire fraud schemes targeting U.S. citizens between 2018 and 2024.
- FinCEN reported $12.7 billion in suspected activity linked to digital-asset investment scams, showing the wider scale of crypto pig-butchering fraud.
A Vietnamese man has been charged in the United States over his alleged role in a crypto pig-butchering scam that caused one victim to lose about $16 million in cryptocurrency.
Millions of dollars in crypto transfers were reported and wallets allegedly linked to fraud targeting U.S. citizens.
Trung Nguyen Van, 37, was charged with two counts of money laundering in the Western District of Missouri. The criminal complaint was unsealed after his first appearance in federal court in Los Angeles. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, the victim, identified as Victim #1, transferred about $16 million worth of cryptocurrency between June and August 2024. The victim believed the money was being invested through a crypto investment platform called “Triangle.”
Crypto transfers traced to Van
The victim’s money was then allegedly moved through several crypto wallets. Investigators traced one transfer of more than $569,000 on August 7, 2024, directly to a cryptocurrency wallet linked to Van.
Two days later, Van’s wallet received six transfers totaling about $569,569. Investigators said the funds could be traced back to Victim #1. Soon after receiving the money, Van allegedly moved about $567,999 in four separate transactions to a private crypto wallet that was not hosted by a centralized blockchain platform.
The alleged activity did not stop with one victim. Investigators said Van’s crypto wallets received about $53.28 million in cryptocurrency assets connected to wire fraud schemes targeting U.S. citizens between February 2018 and December 2024.
During the same period, the wallets allegedly transferred about $53.19 million worth of those crypto assets to other accounts outside the centralized blockchain network. These transfers are part of the evidence prosecutors are using in the case.
Other victims report similar losses
Other victims also reported losing millions of dollars in separate pig-butchering scams. According to the affidavit, their stories were similar. Victims met people online and were later encouraged to invest their cryptocurrency through websites that appeared to offer investment opportunities.
The victims were shown what appeared to be profits from their early investments. This encouraged them to put in more money. But when they later tried to withdraw their funds, they could not do so. They eventually learned that the investment websites were part of scams.
Pig butchering scams often start with a simple online conversation. A scammer may contact someone through a dating website, social media, text message or messaging app. The scammer then spends time building trust with the victim. In some cases, the conversation becomes romantic before the victim is introduced to a fake crypto investment opportunity.
FinCEN warns of wider scam problem
The problem has grown into a major fraud issue in the United States. Early this month, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said it reviewed 33,904 reports of suspected digital-asset investment scams filed between September 2023 and December 2025.
The reports covered about $12.7 billion in related financial activity. FinCEN stressed that the figure represents suspicious activity reported by financial institutions, not confirmed losses suffered by victims.
FinCEN said many of these scams are linked to criminal groups operating across borders, particularly in Southeast Asia. The agency also described an underground network that helps scammers create accounts, carry out phishing attacks and move stolen money.
“Pig butchering schemes are an increasingly prevalent and sophisticated form of fraud that have caused billions of dollars in losses to victims around the world,” said R. Matthew Price, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Ormerod said the investigation helped disrupt the alleged scheme and prevent more people from being defrauded.
The charges against Van are allegations and do not mean he has been found guilty. Prosecutors will have to present evidence to a federal trial jury, which will determine whether he is guilty or innocent.
Also Read: CFTC Charges Cash FX Over $950M Forex Scheme Involving Crypto
