Man Charged in $16 Million Pig Butchering Crypto Scam

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Missouri charged Trung Nguyen Van, 37, of Vietnam, on Friday for his role in a large pig butchering crypto scam. He faces a money laundering charge. Pig butchering scams, also called romance scams, work by building a relationship with a victim before luring them into a fraudulent investment.

How the $16 Million Scam Unfolded

Prosecutors said that during the summer of 2024, a victim transferred about $16 million worth of crypto, believing they were investing in a platform called “Triangle.” Van allegedly moved the funds into private crypto wallets right after receiving them.

Additional Victims Linked to the Scheme

Other US-based victims have reported losing millions of dollars, tracing those losses to wallets that sent funds into Van’s crypto wallet. Prosecutors said each victim was told to send cryptocurrency to different websites, but their stories followed the same pattern: an individual they met online guided them to invest in a specific website with promises of high returns.

Officials Warn of Growing Pig Butchering Fraud

R. Matthew Price, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said pig butchering schemes are an increasingly common and sophisticated form of fraud that has caused billions of dollars in losses to victims worldwide.