A transnational investigation into cryptocurrency “pig-butchering” schemes netted more than 275 arrests, including six people who are now facing charges in San Diego.
The Department of Justice announced April 29 that at least 276 people allegedly connected to cryptocurrency fraud schemes were arrested, and “at least nine scam centers” used to facilitate the operations had been dismantled. The schemes reportedly siphoned millions of dollars from Americans’ bank accounts.
The investigation’s success, the department said, was thanks to “unprecedented cooperation between the FBI, Dubai Police Department, and Chinese Ministry of Public Security.”
“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 DOJ’s Criminal Division.
‘Global Crime Now Faces Global Justice’
Six of the individuals arrested are facing federal fraud and money laundering charges in the Southern District of California. Four were identified as Thet Min Nyi, 27, of Myanmar; and Indonesian nationals Wiliang Awang, 23; Andreas Chandra, 29; and Lisa Mariam, 29. Two other unidentified individuals currently on the run are also facing charges.
The DOJ noted that the Dubai Police, operating under the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Interior, led the effort to disrupt the scam and were responsible for arresting Thet Min Nyi, Chandra and Mariam. Awang, meanwhile, was apprehended by the Royal Thai Police.
If convicted, each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and fines between $250,000 and $500,000.
“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.”
Pig-Butchering out of San Diego
The case dates back to 2025, when FBI agents in San Diego identified several companies and individuals allegedly operating cryptocurrency fraud schemes out of various compounds in the city.
According to the indictment, two criminal complaints and other court records, Thet Min Nyi, Chandra, Mariam, Awang and their two fugitive co-conspirators allegedly “managed, worked for, and recruited others to work for” three companies — Ko Thet Company, Sanduo Group and Giant Company — that operated several different crypto schemes.
Targeting people in both the United States and abroad, the alleged perpetrators engaged in pig-butchering schemes, which involve gaining a victim’s trust, generally through an online friendship or romance, before convincing them to invest in a fraudulent cryptocurrency and stealing their money.
‘Fraud Is Borderless’
Thet Min Nyi and a fugitive co-defendant were indicted by a grand jury in the Southern District of California in March 2026 on wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies. They allegedly played a role in managing and recruiting for the Ko Thet Company, which was also known as “Pixy.”
The other four individuals — Awang, Chandra, their fugitive co-defendant and Mariam — were charged with wire fraud conspiracy in two criminal complaints filed in the Southern District of California in April 2026. The four allegedly operated cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes tied to Sanduo Group and Giant Company.
“The charges and arrests announced today reflect an international consensus that scam centers are unwelcome everywhere and must be rooted out,” said Duva. “In contemporary society, fraud is borderless, and law enforcement activity to combat it and eliminate it is as well.”
