The U.S. Justice Department said its Scam Center Strike Force, working with the Treasury Department, has seized Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace on Telegram that prosecutors describe as a service hub for scam-center operators. In the same operation, authorities said they restrained about $52 million in cryptocurrency tied to the network and its vendors.
The action marks one of the larger single-day disruptions announced by the Strike Force. According to the department, the latest case pushed the total amount of crypto restrained since the unit was formed to roughly $938 million.
Marketplace tied to scam-center services
According to prosecutors, Xinbi operated almost entirely in Chinese on Telegram and served as a marketplace where vendors promoted tools and services used by scam compounds. Those offerings allegedly included custom-built fraudulent investment websites, money-laundering services for funds taken through wire fraud, and recruitment of trafficking victims to work in scam operations.
Authorities said the platform used an escrow model that held payments until a vendor completed a job. That structure, the government said, helped investigators trace specific victim funds to vendors that had posted wallet addresses in the channel.
Court order and wallet restraints
A federal court in Washington authorized the seizure of the Telegram channels on September 7, and prosecutors later unsealed the warrant on Wednesday. Investigators said they seized two cryptocurrency wallets used by Xinbi to collect vendor payments, with holdings of about $12 million.
The Justice Department also said it sought restraint of 47 additional wallets linked to the broader Xinbi network. Combined with the seized wallets, the total amount taken from the platform and related vendors exceeded $52 million, according to the government.
Treasury sanctions announced the same day
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control separately designated Xinbi as a transnational criminal organization on the same day as the seizure action. OFAC also designated two other entities that authorities accused of supporting Xinbi.
The designation means any property or interests in property held in the United States by those sanctioned parties are blocked, according to the government's announcement.
Broader anti-scam campaign expands
The Justice Department presented the Xinbi action as part of a wider campaign against transnational scam infrastructure. In a separate effort, another Strike Force team assisted authorities in Madagascar in dismantling 13 Chinese-run scam compounds, extending recent enforcement activity beyond Southeast Asia.
U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said that Madagascar operation involved processing more than 3,200 devices and interviewing about 400 arrested people. Justice Department officials said the work reflects an effort to pursue scam networks across borders rather than treating them as isolated local cases.
What comes next
For now, the confirmed steps are the seizure of the Telegram channels, the restraint of the identified crypto wallets, and the Treasury sanctions against Xinbi and two alleged backers. Prosecutors have framed the case as part of an ongoing effort to target the financial and logistical services that support scam compounds.
The government has not presented the Xinbi matter as a standalone action. Based on the department's announcement, the Strike Force is expected to continue tracing funds, pursuing related infrastructure, and coordinating with foreign authorities in connected investigations.
Source: cryptopotato.com