A federal money-laundering complaint alleges that one cryptocurrency wallet controlled by a Vietnamese national received about $53.3 million and sent out about $53.2 million over nearly seven years, including a transfer traced to a single American who lost about $16 million in a pig-butchering scam. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri announced the two-count complaint against Trung Nguyen Van, 37, on Sept. 25. These are charges only. Nobody has been convicted, and the release states that the complaint’s contents “are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt.”
What the wallet figures measure, and what they do not
The $53 million describes movement through one wallet, not the losses of victims. According to the complaint as summarized by prosecutors, the wallet received approximately $53,275,939 and transferred out approximately $53,188,466 between Feb. 9, 2018, and Dec. 17, 2024. Money passing through an account and money lost by individuals are separate measures, and the release does not total how many victims sit behind the flow or what they lost in aggregate.
The release does give two anchors. One victim, identified only as Victim 1, lost about $16 million in cryptocurrency during a scam that ran from June through August 2024, and a transfer of more than $569,000 from that victim in August 2024 was traced to the wallet. The release adds that numerous other U.S.-based victims had combined losses in the millions. The FBI’s Kansas City Field Office investigated, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Q. McCarther and James Kirkpatrick are prosecuting.
The fake “Triangle” platform and the trap at the exit
Prosecutors described a pattern that matches the pig-butchering label. Victims met scammers online, were steered to a fake cryptocurrency platform called “Triangle,” were promised high returns and later found they could not withdraw their funds. The complaint itself is a two-count money-laundering charge, which concerns the alleged handling of proceeds.
R. Matthew Price, quoted in the release, said pig-butchering schemes “are an increasingly prevalent and sophisticated form of fraud that have caused billions of dollars in losses worldwide.” Chris Ormerod, quoted for the FBI, said the case shows the bureau’s commitment to “holding fraudsters accountable.”
How relationship investment scams begin, per the CFTC
Federal regulators use the term relationship investment scam for the same crime. A CFTC release from a February 2025 awareness campaign says perpetrators reach targets through dating apps, social media, messaging apps and random wrong-number texts, then build trust with fabricated profiles before suggesting cryptocurrency, precious metals or forex trading. It reports $4 billion in losses reported to the FBI in 2023, and says victims average about 10 payments, each larger than the last. Its listed warning signs include a prolonged inability to meet in person, a shift to encrypted messaging apps and repeated investment suggestions.
The same CFTC release names the agencies behind the campaign, including the FBI, the FTC, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Postal Inspection Service and the inspectors general of the Social Security Administration and the FDIC, and cites a figure of up to an 85% reduction in victimization through awareness. The escalating-payment pattern is the money mechanism the release describes, and the Missouri complaint, which traces a single victim’s transfer of more than $569,000 inside a total loss of about $16 million, is one example of how large those payments can grow.
Crypto payment demands and where to report them
The Federal Trade Commission’s cryptocurrency scam guidance states that “only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency” and lists guaranteed-profit promises, contact that starts on social media or dating apps, and vague explanations of how the money will be made as red flags. The guidance lists dating-app matches who offer investment guidance among the personas fraudsters adopt, alongside government agencies, banks and well-known companies, and treats any demand to buy crypto up front for an investment or account protection as a scam sign. It advises searching an investment’s name with words such as “review,” “scam” or “complaint” before sending funds. Reports can be made to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, to the CFTC, to the SEC, to the FBI’s IC3 and to the exchange that carried the payment.
The FTC’s romance scam page, last modified Aug. 13, 2026, adds that a person who has already sent money should contact the bank or payment company immediately and notify the app or platform where the contact began. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center said in a Sept. 17 alert about impersonation scams that fraudsters demand payment by prepaid cards, couriers, wires, cryptocurrency or cash inserted into crypto kiosks, and that complaints go to ic3.gov with contact details, financial records and communications attached. The alert counted nearly 61,000 impersonation-scam complaints and more than $1.6 billion in losses from January 2025 through July 2026, a separate crime from pig butchering but one paid for through many of the same channels.
For the case itself, the Western District of Missouri release is the controlling record: it charges a two-count money-laundering complaint, attributes the $53,275,939 and $53,188,466 figures to Van’s wallet, and treats Van as accused, not convicted.
Broker lists and how scammers find the numbers to text
Wrong-number texts and cold calls, the openings the CFTC describes, need a phone number to reach. Data brokers and people-search sites collect and sell personal details such as phone numbers and addresses, and less personal data on those lists can mean fewer scam calls, texts and emails. Incogni asks brokers and people-search sites to remove a customer’s personal information, sends those removal requests on the customer’s behalf, keeps re-sending them, and shows the status of each request in the account.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and checked against the primary sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
