Latest news with #Etherium
USA Today
6 days ago
- USA Today
Feds target Chinese couple accused in $9 million crypto 'pig butchering" scam
Federal officials are trying to seize more than $6 million in cryptocurrency they say represents the ill-gotten gains of a Chinese couple's "pig butchering" scam left behind when they fled the United States one step ahead of the cops. Prosecutors say the $6 million sitting in four electronic wallets was left behind by Feng Chen and Tianqiong Xu as they fled to China last year, days after the FBI searched their home. They were indicted in June 2024 by a federal grand jury in Vermont. Court records filed May 22 indicate the married couple specifically targeted people of Chinese heritage across the United States. Prosecutors accuse the couple of ripping off at least $9.5 million from from least 120 victims, operating from their five-bedroom house in Frisco, Texas. According to court documents, 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, investigators said. "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. Federal officials said Chen and Xu found their targets in Chinese-language investing chat rooms. "Beginning at least as early as January 2021 and continuing through January 2024 (they) created a scheme to defraud victims of funds by encouraging the victims to invest in cryptocurrency using fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications," prosecutors wrote in a criminal complaint. "The scheme impacted over 100 victims across the United States and internationally ... and resulted in the theft of millions of dollars from victims." One victim based in Vermont liquidated their retirement account and transferred $600,000 to the couple, according to court filings. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Etherium are largely unregulated, and are increasingly associated connected with scams. Last year, the FBI reported that Americans lost more than $5.6 billion in frauds connected to cryptocurrency, in part because it's so easy to buy and transfer it electronically outside the normal banking system. Court records show 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 Chinese embassy in Houston and fled home to China with their two children, court records show. The FBI and Secret Service had been tracing their scam network since 2021, according to court records. The FBI said Chen is originally from Wuhan, and that he attended universities in Wyoming and Louisiana, where he earned master's degrees in petroleum engineering and geology. FBI agents said Chen used the same computer skills he developed in school to create fake apps and chatbots to trick their victims. The twp 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 United States.
USA Today
6 days ago
- USA Today
Feds target Chinese couple accused in $9 million crypto 'pig butchering\
Feds target Chinese couple accused in $9 million crypto 'pig butchering" scam One victim told authorities they liquidated their retirement accounts to invest with the scammers they met online. Show Caption Hide Caption Here's how to ensure your crypto stays safe and secure From NFT rug pulls to terrorist financing, here's the scams you should watch out for -- and what to do if you're a victim of a crypto crime. Andrea Kramar and Hye-Su Jun, USA TODAY Federal officials are trying to seize more than $6 million in cryptocurrency they say represents the ill-gotten gains of a Chinese couple's "pig butchering" scam left behind when they fled the United States one step ahead of the cops. Prosecutors say the $6 million sitting in four electronic wallets was left behind by Feng Chen and Tianqiong Xu as they fled to China last year, days after the FBI searched their home. They were indicted in June 2024 by a federal grand jury in Vermont. Court records filed May 22 indicate the married couple specifically targeted people of Chinese heritage across the United States. Prosecutors accuse the couple of ripping off at least $9.5 million from from least 120 victims, operating from their five-bedroom house in Frisco, Texas. According to court documents, 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, investigators said. "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. Federal officials said Chen and Xu found their targets in Chinese-language investing chat rooms. "Beginning at least as early as January 2021 and continuing through January 2024 (they) created a scheme to defraud victims of funds by encouraging the victims to invest in cryptocurrency using fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications," prosecutors wrote in a criminal complaint. "The scheme impacted over 100 victims across the United States and internationally ... and resulted in the theft of millions of dollars from victims." One victim based in Vermont liquidated their retirement account and transferred $600,000 to the couple, according to court filings. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Etherium are largely unregulated, and are increasingly associated connected with scams. Last year, the FBI reported that Americans lost more than $5.6 billion in frauds connected to cryptocurrency, in part because it's so easy to buy and transfer it electronically outside the normal banking system. Court records show 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 Chinese embassy in Houston and fled home to China with their two children, court records show. The FBI and Secret Service had been tracing their scam network since 2021, according to court records. The FBI said Chen is originally from Wuhan, and that he attended universities in Wyoming and Louisiana, where he earned master's degrees in petroleum engineering and geology. FBI agents said Chen used the same computer skills he developed in school to create fake apps and chatbots to trick their victims. The twp 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 United States.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin plummets as tariff fallout spreads
The price of Bitcoin fell by around 5pc on Sunday amid the growing fallout from Donald Trump's trade war. The world's largest and best-known cryptocurrency tumbled to just under $79,000 (£61,500) by the end of the weekend, way below its peak of $106,000 in the wake of the US President's election victory. Etherium, the second biggest cryptocurrency globally, also slipped by around 9.6pc to just under $1, sell-off signals another potentially turbulent week for investors, as stock markets brace for the prospect of more steep losses. Around $6 trillion was wiped from global markets last week following Mr Trump's Liberation Day tariffs announcement, which confirmed aggressive levies on countries around the world. Like stock markets, Bitcoin whipsawed as Mr Trump ramped up his trade war, with investors fearing the prospect of a global recession. It comes after Donald Trump embraced cryptocurrency during his successful presidential campaign and has vowed to make the US the 'undisputed Bitcoin superpower and crypto capital of the world'. That is despite previously calling cryptocurrency a 'scam' that affected the value of the U-Turn on crypto led to Mr Trump launching his own meme coin, $ value of his cryptocurrency initially surged following his January inauguration, although it has since fallen by 40pc in the last four Trump, the First Lady, also launched her own meme coin, although it has lost almost a third of its value over the past month. Since returning to the White House, the US President has signed an executive order to create a so-called Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, stocked with coins seized by the government. Mr Trump's crypto tsar, David Sacks, has described the funds as a 'digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called digital gold'.While supporters of mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are seen by their supporters as a potential way to change payments and finance, meme coins have little use. Instead, they are seen as a way of showing support for certain personalities or a form of gambling. Sign in to access your portfolio
Telegraph
06-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Bitcoin plummets as tariff fallout spreads
The price of Bitcoin fell by around 5pc on Sunday amid the growing fallout from Donald Trump's trade war. The world's largest and best-known cryptocurrency tumbled to just under $79,000 (£61,500) by the end of the weekend, way below its peak of $106,000 in the wake of the US President's election victory. Etherium, the second biggest cryptocurrency globally, also slipped by around 9.6pc to just under $1,618. The sell-off signals another potentially turbulent week for investors, as stock markets brace for the prospect of more steep losses. Around $6 trillion was wiped from global markets last week following Mr Trump's Liberation Day tariffs announcement, which confirmed aggressive levies on countries around the world. Like stock markets, Bitcoin whipsawed as Mr Trump ramped up his trade war, with investors fearing the prospect of a global recession. It comes after Donald Trump embraced cryptocurrency during his successful presidential campaign and has vowed to make the US the 'undisputed Bitcoin superpower and crypto capital of the world'. That is despite previously calling cryptocurrency a 'scam' that affected the value of the dollar. His U-Turn on crypto led to Mr Trump launching his own meme coin, $ value of his cryptocurrency initially surged following his January inauguration, although it has since fallen by 40pc in the last four weeks. Melania Trump, the First Lady, also launched her own meme coin, although it has lost almost a third of its value over the past month. Since returning to the White House, the US President has signed an executive order to create a so-called Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, stocked with coins seized by the government. Mr Trump's crypto tsar, David Sacks, has described the funds as a 'digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called digital gold'. While supporters of mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are seen by their supporters as a potential way to change payments and finance, meme coins have little use.
