US Charges Vietnamese National Over $53M Crypto Fraud Wallets
Prosecutors say wallets tied to Trung Nguyen Van received about $53.3 million linked to 'pig butchering' scams targeting US victims.
US prosecutors have charged a 37-year-old Vietnamese national, Trung Nguyen Van, with money laundering in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency fraud network. According to the charges, wallets under his control received roughly $53.3 million tied to 'pig butchering' schemes that targeted victims in the United States.
What prosecutors allege
The case centers on so-called pig butchering operations, in which victims are groomed over time and then steered toward fraudulent crypto investment platforms. Prosecutors say one victim transferred about $16 million after being directed to one such fake platform.
- Defendant: Trung Nguyen Van, 37, a Vietnamese national
- Alleged flow through controlled wallets: approximately $53.3 million
- Single alleged victim transfer: about $16 million to a fake investment platform
- Charges include two money laundering counts
The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court. The case adds to a growing set of US enforcement actions aimed at the infrastructure that moves proceeds from romance-and-investment fraud, rather than at individual scammers alone.
Pig butchering schemes typically combine prolonged social contact with fake trading dashboards that show fictitious gains, encouraging victims to send more funds. Because the transfers usually run through crypto wallets and exchanges across multiple jurisdictions, investigators often focus on the laundering layer when building cases.