The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday unveiled criminal charges against two Chinese nationals accused of running a forced-labor cryptocurrency scam compound in Burma, in a major coordinated action by the federal Scam Center Strike Force.
TL;DR: Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Jie are charged with wire fraud conspiracy for allegedly managing the Shunda compound in Burma, where trafficked workers were beaten and forced to steal from Americans. The same action seized a Telegram recruiting channel with 6,000+ followers, took down 503 fake investment websites, and restrained more than $700 million in cryptocurrency tied to scam laundering.
The Two Men Charged
Prosecutors unsealed criminal complaints and arrest warrants against Huang Xingshan, also known as “Ah Zhe” and “Huang Xing Saan,” and Jiang Wen Jie, also known as “Jiang Nan.” Both are charged with wire fraud conspiracy in connection with fraud operations at the Shunda compound in Min Let Pan, Burma.
According to the Justice Department, Huang served as a high-level manager and enforcer at Shunda and personally took part in the physical punishment of trafficked compound workers. Jiang was a team leader who directly supervised workers targeting American victims. Under Jiang’s supervision, investigators say, one worker defrauded a single American victim of more than $3 million through a fake investment platform — a theft the DOJ says was “celebrated within the organization as a paradigm of success.”
Inside the Shunda Compound
The Shunda compound operated from at least January 2025 until about November 2025, when Burma’s Karen National Liberation Army seized it. It used fake investment websites and apps to defraud victims, including Americans.
Workers inside were trafficked individuals forced to defraud victims under threat of violence and torture. After Shunda fell, prosecutors say, Huang and Jiang moved to a Cambodia compound to restart the fraud operation, but were arrested on immigration charges by Thai law enforcement in early 2026 while traveling through Thailand.
Telegram Channel and 503 Websites Seized
In a first-of-its-kind seizure, the Strike Force took over a Telegram channel with more than 6,000 followers that recruited people to travel to Cambodia under false promises of high-paying jobs, then forced them to run a law-enforcement impersonation scam against Americans.
Victims received cold calls from people posing as JPMorgan or other bank customer-service agents, warning that their accounts had been used to buy firearms. They were then transferred to supposed “NYPD detectives” and even a purported “New York Supreme Court” — pressured over WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams until they handed over their savings.
The Strike Force also seized more than 503 dot-com domains identified by the FBI as fake “investment platforms” that drained victims’ crypto deposits through Operation Level Up. Since January 2024, Operation Level Up has notified 8,935 victims — 77 percent of whom did not know they were being scammed — saving an estimated $562.7 million.
$700 Million Restrained, Sanctions and Rewards
The Strike Force says it has identified and restrained more than $701.96 million in cryptocurrency allegedly tied to laundering proceeds of crypto investment scams. In a coordinated interagency move announced the same day, the Treasury Department sanctioned Cambodian scam-center operators and the State Department offered rewards for information tied to the Tai Chang scam center in Burma.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro said at a Washington news conference: “We have charged the Chinese bosses who ran a scam compound in Burma, where trafficked workers were beaten and forced to steal from Americans. We have taken down more than 500 websites used to steal people’s savings… This Administration is lock-step in combatting these scams, and we are not done.”
FAQ
Who was charged in the DOJ scam-center case?
Chinese nationals Huang Xingshan (aka “Ah Zhe,” “Huang Xing Saan”) and Jiang Wen Jie (aka “Jiang Nan”). They are charged with wire fraud conspiracy for allegedly managing the Shunda crypto-fraud compound in Burma. Both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
What is the Scam Center Strike Force?
A Justice Department task force launched in November 2025 — following a presidential executive order on cybercrime — that coordinates the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, the DOJ Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C., and foreign partners against Southeast Asian scam compounds targeting Americans.
What was the Shunda compound?
An industrial-scale scam compound in Min Let Pan, Burma, operating from at least January 2025 until it was seized by the Karen National Liberation Army around November 2025. Trafficked workers there were forced under threat of violence to run fake crypto-investment scams against victims including Americans.
What happened to Huang and Jiang after the compound fell?
Prosecutors say they relocated to a scam compound in Cambodia to continue the fraud operation, then decided to return to Burma in early 2026, traveling through Thailand — where Thai law enforcement arrested them on immigration charges.
What was seized in the operation?
A Telegram recruiting channel with more than 6,000 followers (the first seizure of its kind), more than 503 fake investment websites, and over $700 million in cryptocurrency identified as laundered scam proceeds and restrained.
How did the Telegram impersonation scam work?
Recruits posed as JPMorgan or other bank agents, warned victims their accounts were used to buy firearms, then transferred them to fake “NYPD detectives” and “New York Supreme Court” officials, pressuring them over WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams to surrender their savings.
How big is the crypto scam problem?
Reported U.S. crypto investment-fraud losses topped $7.2 billion in 2025, up from $3.96 billion in 2023, per the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center — and those figures are believed to understate the true total because most victims never report.
Featured image: The U.S. Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photo via Wikimedia Commons. Sources: U.S. Department of Justice press release, Fox News.
