US Takes Down Chinese Scam Network Targeting American Retirement Accounts
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken down a Chinese-language marketplace called Xinbi Guarantee, which allegedly sold services to online scam centers targeting Americans. The platform had over 650,000 users and was hosted on Telegram.
Authorities say that Xinbi operated as an escrow service for vendors and scam-center operators, holding payments until the promised service was delivered. Investigators traced U.S. victims' funds to vendors that advertised money-laundering services and posted cryptocurrency wallets for payment on Telegram.
The DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force and the Treasury Department took coordinated action against Xinbi, seizing Telegram channels and cryptocurrency wallets tied to the platform. Officials restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency allegedly tied to scam money laundering in one day, bringing the Strike Force's total restrained funds to about $938 million.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said that Chinese organized crime can 'buy a custom website and a money laundering service the way you order takeout,' putting every American with a retirement account at risk. She vowed to continue dismantling Chinese organized crime and protecting Main Street America.