SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Hundreds of people have been arrested and charged, including alleged managers and recruiters, in an international scam center takedown involving the FBI in San Diego and police and agencies in Dubai, China and Thailand.
Prosecutors allege the scam centers targeted Americans who lost millions of dollars from cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in Southern California announced the FBI, Dubai Police Department, and Chinese Ministry of Public Security coordinated to dismantle at least nine scam centers used for cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes that resulted in the arrests of at least 276 people.
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The international crackdown last week was spearheaded by the Dubai Police, under the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Interior. Three of 275 people arrested by Dubai Police were charged in the Southern District of California with federal wire fraud and money laundering charges, the DOJ reports. One other person was arrested by the Royal Thai Police.
Unsealed on Wednesday in San Diego, the DOJ reports Thet Min Nyi (27, a Burmese national), Wiliang Awang (23, an Indonesian national), Andreas Chandra (29, an Indonesian national), Lisa Mariam (29, an Indonesian national), and two fugitive co-conspirators, were charged with federal fraud and money laundering charges.
Dubai Police apprehended Thet Min Nyi, Chandra, and Mariam, while the Royal Thai Police apprehended Awang.
“These scammers thought they were safe half a world away. But their world has changed. Global crime now faces global justice,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California.
FBI San Diego agents opened a Homeland Security Task Force investigation in 2025 after identifying multiple companies and people managing scam compounds that were conducting cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes, the DOJ reports.
According to the indictment, two criminal complaints, and other court records, those charged in San Diego allegedly managed, worked for, and recruited others to work at three companies that operated several alleged scam centers — “Ko Thet Company,” “Sanduo Group,” and “Giant Company.”
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The DOJ alleges that all six defendants gained the trust of victims in the U.S. and other countries over time through friendship or romance before persuading them to send money for fake investments. The scammers reportedly encouraged their victims to invest in cryptocurrency and to borrow money to invest more, and once they made the transfers, the victims lost control of their cryptocurrency.
“Today’s indictment demonstrates the FBI’s determination to identify, disrupt, and dismantle these global scam centers defrauding Americans no matter where they set up shop,” said Mark Remily, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “FBI San Diego will continue to coordinate with our law enforcement, private sector, and international partners to protect victims from cryptocurrency fraud, stop losses before they happen, and recover victim funds where we can.”
Several victims across the U.S. have been identified through complaints filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), and millions of dollars in losses have been identified by FBI investigators so far.
In March 2026, a grand jury in the Southern District of California returned an indictment against Thet Min Nyi, the alleged manager and recruiter for the “Ko Thet Company,” also called “Pixy.” Nyi, along with a fugitive co-defendant, were charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, along with criminal forfeiture allegations.
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In April 2026, two criminal complaints in the Southern District of California charged Awang, Chandra, their fugitive co-defendant, and Mariam with wire fraud conspiracy, based on cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes from “Sanduo Group” and “Giant Company.”
The DOJ says the Dubai Police Department, under the UAE Ministry of Interior, significantly disrupted the scam operations through their investigation.
Thailand’s Royal Thai Police’s (RTP) Immigration Bureau, Foreign Affairs, and Anti Cyber Scam Center provided significant assistance, apprehending a key defendant, Awang, in Thailand.
Meta Platforms, Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, also assisted in the investigation, providing authorities with critical information for the investigation.
The U.S. Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation unit assisted the FBI in this investigation.
This investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The task force is dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.
As of April 2026, the FBI notified almost 9,000 victims and saved victims an estimated $562 million.
FBI-San Diego is also currently investigating the Tai Chang Scam Enterprise, a series of scam compounds located in Burma’s Karen State that is also accused of conducting cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes against Americans.
Anyone who has been defrauded of money by this type of scheme should contact the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
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