The sanctioned individuals and blocked entities were determined to be active in the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization (Prince Group TCO), whose members allegedly own and profit from compounds where fraud operations target victims in the United States and around the world.
“The Trump Administration is united in its efforts to dismantle these overseas criminal enterprises, and Treasury will continue using its tools to disrupt the networks behind this egregious fraud and protect Americans,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement.
One of the schemes involves fraudsters sending text messages to potential victims’ cellphones promising a potential romantic relationship or friendship.
The Treasury Department said that after gaining their trust, the victims are convinced to invest in digital assets on websites that appear to be legitimate investment portals but are, in reality, controlled by scammers.
Once the money is transferred to a fraudulent platform, the funds disappear.
Americans lost some $10 billion in 2024 to Southeast Asia-based scam operations, which is a 66 percent increase from the prior year, according to U.S. Department of Treasury data.
“Scam centers in Southeast Asia steal billions of dollars from American victims each year,” Bessent said.
Cambodia is named as a primary location for the purported fraud.
The Treasury Department further stated that Southeast Asia-based criminal organizations are known to recruit people to work in scam compounds under false pretenses.
Those false pretenses include offering fake technology or customer service jobs at the scam compound, which are allegedly connected to casinos, resorts, and front companies.
Once the unsuspecting recruits arrive at the compounds, the operators reportedly confiscate their passports and employ debt bondage, physical violence, the threat of forced prostitution, and other methods to coerce them into defrauding strangers online, according to the Treasury Department.
The scam operators are accused of specifically looking to recruit individuals with English language skills.
Former scammers report being directed to specifically target Americans, and some even had quotas for the number of targets per day.
The Treasury Department added that individual U.S. victims of these scams have, in some cases, lost their entire life savings.
Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens orders the government to unleash every available tool to stop foreign-backed criminal networks that exploit vulnerable Americans through cybercrime, cyber-enabled fraud, and extortion.
The nine individuals are Hu Xiaowei, Brendon Luo, Qiu Weiren, Dai An, Fang Zhizhen, Chen Bo, Ho Ho Ming, Kong Ka On, and Li Hui.
The companies are Eagle Fortitude Limited, Leisure Focus Limited, Future King Inc., China Reserve Securities Limited, Future Wing Financial Company Limited, Future Oasis Pte. Ltd., Future Cosmos Limited, Future Cosmos One Limited, Future Cosmos Two Limited, CN Crystal Limited, CN Breeze Limited, Tycoon Yachts (HK) Limited, Rocket Sandbox Ltd., DTX Winners Club Limited, Luffa Technology Network Company Limited, Cuban Trading UK Ltd., Halo Network Technology Ltd., Fortune Network Technology Ltd., Charco Charco Holborn Limited, Terra Cotta Warriors Isle of Dogs Ltd., Mingmen London Ltd., Chasca London Limited, East Link London Ltd., Cloud Nine No. 4 Leasing Company Limited, CCU Commercial Bank PLC, and White Horse Hotel Management Group Co., Ltd.