Man Charged in US $53M Crypto Wallet Scam
US Charges Man After Crypto Scam Wallets Received More Than $53M
US prosecutors have charged a Vietnamese national with money laundering in a case tied to so-called “pig butchering” cryptocurrency scams, alleging that wallets under his control received more than $53 million in fraud-linked assets from US victims.
Trung Nguyen Van, 37, faces two money-laundering counts in the Western District of Missouri. He appeared in federal court in Los Angeles, according to the US Attorney’s Office. The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court; Van is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Prosecutors say the investigation began after authorities looked into a victim who believed they were investing through a cryptocurrency platform called Triangle. During the summer of 2024, the victim allegedly transferred about $16 million in cryptocurrency after building trust with people involved in the scheme.
Authorities say the victim later became unable to withdraw the purported investment, a common feature of fraudulent platforms designed to mimic legitimate crypto services.
Investigators then linked the wallet infrastructure involved in the Triangle case to other suspicious wallets and additional reports from US victims describing similar experiences. Prosecutors allege that crypto wallets controlled by Van received approximately $53.3 million in assets tied to wire-fraud schemes and subsequently transferred roughly $53.2 million onward. The government alleges those transfers were part of laundering proceeds obtained through fraud.
Pig-butchering schemes typically involve scammers cultivating a relationship with a target over time before steering them toward a fake or manipulated investment opportunity. Cryptocurrency is often used in these operations because it can move quickly across borders without relying on traditional bank rails.
At the same time, blockchain activity can provide investigators with records that are difficult to erase entirely. Wallet addresses and transaction histories can create a trail for law enforcement, even as funds move through multiple wallets, services, and exchanges that can complicate recovery efforts.
The Department of Justice said the FBI investigated the case. The alleged loss amounts highlighted by prosecutors underscore the scale these fraud networks can reach, including cases in which a single victim’s transfers can total millions of dollars.
