VIETNAMESE NATIONAL CHARGED IN $53 MILLION CRYPTOCURRENCY MONEY-LAUNDERING CASE TIED TO “PIG BUTCHERING” FRAUD

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Vietnamese national has been charged in federal court with money laundering after investigators allegedly traced cryptocurrency connected to multimillion-dollar “pig butchering” fraud schemes through wallets under his control, including funds linked to a victim who lost approximately $16 million.

Trung Nguyen Van, 37, was charged in the Western District of Missouri in a two-count federal criminal complaint with money laundering.

The complaint was unsealed after Van made his initial appearance in federal court in Los Angeles on September 24, 2026.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, investigators allege that cryptocurrency wallets associated with Van received approximately $53,275,939 in digital assets connected to wire fraud schemes targeting people in the United States between February 9, 2018, and December 17, 2024.

Those wallets allegedly transferred approximately $53,188,466 in cryptocurrency to other accounts.

The case includes one victim identified in federal court records as Victim #1, who allegedly transferred approximately $16 million in cryptocurrency between June and August 2024 after believing the funds were being invested through a cryptocurrency platform called “Triangle.”

Federal investigators allege the platform was part of a fraudulent investment scheme.

One transfer on August 7, 2024, involved more than $569,000 in cryptocurrency that investigators traced to a wallet associated with Van.

Two days later, on August 9, the same wallet allegedly received six transfers totaling approximately $569,569 that investigators traced to Victim #1.

Federal authorities allege Van then moved approximately $567,999 in four transactions to a private, unhosted cryptocurrency wallet.

The transactions form part of the money-laundering allegations now pending against him.

The investigation also identified numerous other victims in the United States who reported losing millions of dollars collectively through similar cryptocurrency investment schemes.

According to federal investigators, those victims were directed to different websites but described substantially similar patterns.

Individuals met someone online who gained their trust and encouraged them to place cryptocurrency into what appeared to be an investment platform promising substantial financial returns.

The supposed investment accounts appeared to show profits, encouraging victims to commit additional money.

When victims attempted to withdraw their investments, they were unable to recover the funds and eventually discovered that the investment platforms were fraudulent.

Federal authorities commonly refer to this form of fraud as “pig butchering.”

The term describes a prolonged social-engineering scheme in which fraudsters spend time building trust with a victim before gradually persuading that person to transfer larger amounts of money into fraudulent investments.

The schemes can begin through dating platforms, social media, text messages, or messaging applications.

A conversation that initially appears personal or romantic can eventually shift toward investment opportunities, often involving cryptocurrency.

The victim may initially be shown supposed profits or successful transactions designed to establish confidence in the platform.

Those apparent gains can be used to persuade the victim to make larger deposits.

The money displayed on the fraudulent platform may not represent actual investment returns, and victims can discover the fraud only after attempting to withdraw their assets.

In the Van case, investigators allege several suspicious cryptocurrency wallets associated with separate victims ultimately transferred assets into a wallet connected to him.

That alleged flow of funds is central to the government’s money-laundering case.

Cryptocurrency transactions can be recorded on public blockchain systems, allowing investigators in some cases to follow movements between digital wallet addresses even when the identities controlling those addresses are not immediately known.

The federal investigation focused on tracing cryptocurrency associated with reported fraud victims through multiple wallets and subsequent transfers.

The government alleges that Van’s wallets received more than $53 million connected to wire fraud schemes during a period spanning nearly seven years.

U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price for the Western District of Missouri said these schemes have caused billions of dollars in losses worldwide and that federal authorities intend to pursue individuals involved in targeting victims through fraudulent cryptocurrency investments.

FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Chris Ormerod said the investigation involved cooperation between law enforcement and private-sector partners and was intended to disrupt the alleged scheme before additional victims suffered losses.

The scale of the alleged transactions demonstrates how a single cryptocurrency wallet can become part of a broader financial network involving numerous victims and multiple fraud operations.

Investigators allege that victims were not all directed to the same website or contacted by the same individual.

The common factor was the movement of assets from wallets associated with the fraudulent schemes into cryptocurrency infrastructure allegedly connected to Van.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Q. McCarther and James Kirkpatrick for the Western District of Missouri.

The FBI investigated the case.

Van has been charged, but he has not been convicted.

The allegations contained in the federal complaint must be proven in court, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation now places federal scrutiny on cryptocurrency movements totaling more than $53 million that prosecutors allege were connected to fraud schemes targeting people across the United States.

For investigators, the case is not limited to a single $16 million victim.

It concerns an alleged financial pipeline through which tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency tied to multiple fraud victims moved before being transferred onward.

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

🔥 NOW AVAILABLE! 🔥

‎👉 Eclipsera – Apple Music

---

---

---

---

---