Federal officials are trying to seize more than $6 million in cryptocurrency — part of the ill-gotten gains of a “pig butchering” scam (杀猪盘) — left behind in four electronic wallets by a Chinese couple — 
Feng Chen and Tianqiong Xu — when they fled the US and retuned to China last year, just days after the FBI searched their home.
They were indicted in June 2024 by a federal grand jury in Vermont.
The married couple specifically targeted people of Chinese heritage across the US. Operating from their five-bedroom house in Frisco, Texas, the couple has ripped off at least $9.5 million from at least 120 victims,.

Chen and Xu tricked people into thinking they were investing in cryptocurrency when instead the couple faked apps, emails and online records, and deposited the money in their own crypto wallets. The victims got regular reports purporting to show their investments were gaining in value.
"Pig butchering" is the name given to scams in which crooks build a relationship with their targets over time, and then steal their money. In some cases, as with other frauds like Ponzi schemes, scammers work within a specific community, like a church group or neighborhood.
Chen and Xu found their targets in Chinese-language investing chat rooms.
"Beginning at least as early as Jan 2021 and continuing through Jan 2024 they created a scheme to defraud victims of funds by encouraging the victims to invest in cryptocurrency using fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications. The scheme impacted over 100 victims across the US and internationally ... and resulted in the theft of millions of dollars from victims."

One victim based in Vermont liquidated his retirement account and transferred $600,000 to the couple.
FBI agents searched the couple's home in late 2023 but didn't arrest them at that time. Days later the family got passports from the consulate general in Houston (wait, isn’t it supposed to have been closed down since July 2020?) and fled home to China with their two children. The FBI and Secret Service had been tracing their scam network since 2021.
Chen is originally from Wuhan, and he attended universities in Wyoming and Louisiana, where he earned master's degrees in petroleum engineering and geology. Chen used the same computer skills he developed in school to create fake apps and chatbots to trick their victims.
The two were indicted in absentia by a federal grand jury in Vermont, and will be prosecuted for wire fraud and money laundering if they return to the US.
usatoday.com/story/news/nat
forbes.com/sites/thomasbr
Feng Chen and Tianqiong Xu — when they fled the US and retuned to China last year, just days after the FBI searched their home.
They were indicted in June 2024 by a federal grand jury in Vermont.
The married couple specifically targeted people of Chinese heritage across the US. Operating from their five-bedroom house in Frisco, Texas, the couple has ripped off at least $9.5 million from at least 120 victims,.

Chen and Xu tricked people into thinking they were investing in cryptocurrency when instead the couple faked apps, emails and online records, and deposited the money in their own crypto wallets. The victims got regular reports purporting to show their investments were gaining in value.
"Pig butchering" is the name given to scams in which crooks build a relationship with their targets over time, and then steal their money. In some cases, as with other frauds like Ponzi schemes, scammers work within a specific community, like a church group or neighborhood.
Chen and Xu found their targets in Chinese-language investing chat rooms.
"Beginning at least as early as Jan 2021 and continuing through Jan 2024 they created a scheme to defraud victims of funds by encouraging the victims to invest in cryptocurrency using fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications. The scheme impacted over 100 victims across the US and internationally ... and resulted in the theft of millions of dollars from victims."

One victim based in Vermont liquidated his retirement account and transferred $600,000 to the couple.
FBI agents searched the couple's home in late 2023 but didn't arrest them at that time. Days later the family got passports from the consulate general in Houston (wait, isn’t it supposed to have been closed down since July 2020?) and fled home to China with their two children. The FBI and Secret Service had been tracing their scam network since 2021.
Chen is originally from Wuhan, and he attended universities in Wyoming and Louisiana, where he earned master's degrees in petroleum engineering and geology. Chen used the same computer skills he developed in school to create fake apps and chatbots to trick their victims.
The two were indicted in absentia by a federal grand jury in Vermont, and will be prosecuted for wire fraud and money laundering if they return to the US.
usatoday.com/story/news/nat
forbes.com/sites/thomasbr