WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Justice charged six Africa-based scammers with connections to China and Southeast Asia for targeting Americans in fake Nonfungible Token (NFT) investment schemes on Tuesday. The department restrained over $1 billion in cryptocurrency linked to the scams.

FBI investigators identified approximately 74 cryptocurrency wallets linked to approximately 800 victims who reported financial losses. Chui Kok Wa was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud as the leader of the NFT scheme, while Ifeel Simango is charged with extorting at least 54 victims, including one who committed suicide, and faces 52 charges in South Africa.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced the actions taken by the Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force, joined by U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman. "Chinese TCOs are sending scammers into your dating network, your social network, and your messaging applications, all to steal Main Street America’s bank accounts."

Scammers posed as women on dating websites to enlist victims to connect their cryptocurrency wallets to fraudulent NFT investment websites, then surreptitiously pulled money from the wallets without their knowledge. Stolen funds were moved to cryptocurrency accounts associated with Chinese-based actors.

In August 2026, the FBI assisted in taking down 13 scam compounds in Madagascar and seizing more than 3,200 electronic devices. A criminal group with connections to Malaysia and China opened those scam compounds in Madagascar in early 2025, likely moving operations from Cambodia after law enforcement action there.

Chui Kok Wa’s phones contained employment contracts detailing overnight work schedules in Madagascar corresponding with daytime and evening hours in the United States, along with bonus payments tied to money stolen. His phone also contained a roster of employees with details including names, passport information, salaries, and cryptocurrency wallet addresses, indicating a structured operational framework for the scam. Primary source: secretservice.gov

"For the last year, the Strike Force has fought hard against the compounds in Southeast Asia facilitating these scammers, to the tune of $1 billion in cryptocurrency restrained," Pirro said. The Scam Center Strike Force seized 700 fraudulent crypto investment websites.