Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS—Federal law enforcement, interagency partners announce ‘Scam Center Strike Force’, (Nov 13, 2025)

By Justin Marcus Smith, J.D.

The agencies billed the Strike Force as a way to combat cryptocurrency-related “pig butchering” scams that, in aggregate, may account for up to half the GDP of some Southeast Asian countries.

United States Attorney Jeanine Pirro, in conjunction with interagency partners, announced the creation of the first “Scam Center Strike Force” in a Nov. 12, 2025, Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. Interagency partners participating in the announcement included Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the DOJ, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Gregory A. Heeb, and Assistant Director Kyo Dolan of the U.S. Secret Service’s Office of Field Operations (collectively, the law enforcement officials).

According to the DOJ press release, the Scam Center Strike Force is a collaboration of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; DOJ’s Criminal Division, including the Computer Crimes & Intellectual Property Section, Fraud Section, and Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the U.S. Secret Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island is also collaborating on the initiative.

The law enforcement officials said the goal of the Strike Force is to recover and return stolen funds to victims. They said the Strike Force Crypto Seizure team is “already up and running” and has already seized over $400 million in cryptocurrency.

Pig butchering. The law enforcement officials described how Chinese transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) are using cryptocurrency investment scams and other confidence scams to steal the life savings of everyday Americans. Such scams are colloquially referred to as “pig butchering.” The TCOs use U.S. social media networks to target Americans and gain their trust, usually through text messages sent to cell phones. The scams involve teasing a real cryptocurrency investment to induce the victims to empty their bank accounts. Funds are often funneled through U.S. hosted websites and then transmitted overseas.

TCO workers, meanwhile, are often themselves the victims of human trafficking who are held against their will and abused by armed criminals. The law enforcement officials alleged that this activity amounts to nearly half of the gross domestic product (GDP) of some Southeast Asian countries. The same press release suggested the scams defraud Americans of about $10 billion per year in aggregate.

U.S. Attorney Pirro said it is essential that Americans understand the safe use of cryptocurrency to achieve President Trump’s goal of making the United States the global center of the cryptocurrency industry. The law enforcement officials said the Strike Force will educate Americans on how to identify these scams and try to return stolen funds to victims. Pirro vowed she and her interagency partners will “expose and prosecute the criminals who would abuse their trust so that all Americans can feel secure in their investments.” Law enforcement activities will include calling on U.S. corporations to partner in the initiative to secure U.S. infrastructure.

FBI Criminal Division Deputy Assistant Director Gregory Heeb concurred that the FBI will act to stop transnational financial criminals from inflicting lasting injury on Americans. Assistant Director Kyo Dolan of the United States Secret Service said the Secret Service has already responded to about 3,000 victims who reported cryptocurrency investment schemes.

The law enforcement officials said the Scam Center Strike Force will “use all government tools available, partnering with the State Department, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Department of Commerce.” They said the Strike Force will tackle scam compounds in Southeast Asia. Efforts will include pursuing key leaders as well as seizing and disabling U.S. infrastructure used to execute the scams, including U.S. internet service provider and social media accounts.

Specific efforts. The law enforcement officials said the Strike Force Burma team has already conducted operations against two scam centers located in Myanmar (Burma) by seizing websites and seeking warrants to seize satellite terminals used to connect the facilities to the internet. Similar efforts are said to be ongoing in Bali, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Also on November 12, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued its own discrete press release announcing it has designated the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), a Myanmar armed group, and other entities, some of which operate in Cambodia, as specially-designated nationals (SDNs). Accordingly, Treasury will block SDN assets and generally prohibit U.S. persons from doing business with them. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley noted the Myanmar criminal networks are not only stealing billions of dollars from Americans, but they also are engaged in human trafficking and contributing to Myanmar’s brutal civil war.

ABA statement. American Bankers Association (ABA) President and CEO Rob Nichols said the ABA “welcomes” the launch of the Scam Center Strike Force. Nichols noted the damage the Southeast Asian scam centers inflict on millions of Americans. He said the ABA has “long called for a whole-of-government approach to combating the global challenge, and [the November 12] announcement marks an important step forward in that effort.” He said the ABA and its member banks are ready to support the effort and ensure criminals are held accountable. He noted existing ABA partnership efforts with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to help combat the check fraud that has been surging since the COVID-19 pandemic.

CBA statement. Consumer Bankers Association President and CEO Lindsey Johnson separately concurred that the government “must spearhead a cross-industry public-private national strategy against fraud and scams.” Johnson noted the Aspen Institute National Task Force for Fraud and Scam Prevention completed initial work in early April 2025 focused on enhancing public-private collaboration. She said that initial work produced potential recommendations for, among other things, increasing consumer awareness.

ICBA statement. Also on Nov. 12, 2025, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) announced the release of a comprehensive white paper urging policymakers to close the Industrial Loan Company (ILC) legal “loophole” that allows commercial interests to own full-service banks without having to comply with key Federal Reserve regulations. ICBA said the loophole allows industrial loan companies to endanger consumers and the economy. ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey stressed, “Any company that wishes to own a full-service bank should be subject to the same restrictions and supervision that apply to any other bank holding company.” She said Congress should close the ILC loophole for good.

BPI statement. The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) likewise endorsed the Scam Center Strike Force effort to “crack down on crypto-facilitated fraud and scams originating from Southeast Asia.” BPI Executive Vice President Heather Hogsett said the BPI is ready to support this “vital” effort. She said American consumers are “under attack from sophisticated criminal networks and hostile nation-states.” She said industry and government will have to work together to confront the threat. She also referenced the Aspen Institute’s recently launched National Strategy to Prevent Scams. The BPI release said it has also called on social media and telecommunication companies to take a bigger role in preventing scams on their networks. The BPI release suggested Meta has a big role to play in thwarting the scams.

Reporting fraud. The law enforcement officials urged victims of internet crime fraud to contact the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Companies: American Banking Association; Bank Policy Institute; Consumer Bankers Association; Independent Community Bankers of America

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