$53M Crypto Scam: Vietnamese National Charged with Money Laundering
US authorities have charged a Vietnamese national, Trung Nguyen Van, 37, in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency scam that saw over $53 million laundered through wallets linked to 'pig butchering' schemes.
The case centers around a victim who transferred approximately $16 million in crypto to a fake investment platform called Triangle, believing they were investing in a legitimate opportunity. However, the funds could not be withdrawn, and investigators connected the recipient infrastructure with other suspicious wallets and reports from additional U.S. victims describing similar experiences.
The complaint alleges that Van's wallets received around $53.3 million in assets linked to wire-fraud schemes and subsequently transferred roughly $53.2 million onward, as part of laundering funds obtained through fraud.
Prosecutors say crypto is often used in such scams because large amounts can be moved quickly across borders without relying on conventional bank transfers, but the same blockchain records can later become evidence, providing investigators with a trail to follow.