The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed the biggest forfeiture action ever, seeking a claim of about 127,271 Bitcoin (BTC), worth almost $15 billion. The funds were seized from a massive scam network that combined crypto fraud with forced labor. This action could sharply raise the amount of Bitcoin the U.S. government holds. The money is already safe with the U.S. government.
According to the press release, this legal move is connected to the indictment of Chen Zhi, who is the chairman of the Prince Holding Group. He is charged with running a scheme that forced people to work in compounds in Cambodia.
These workers were trapped and forced to run “pig butchering” scams, stealing billions from victims worldwide. The DOJ is taking this money because it is the profit from Chen Zhi’s criminal business.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi called this “one of the most significant strikes ever against the global scourge of human trafficking and cyber-enabled financial fraud.”
If a court agrees to the forfeiture, the U.S. Bitcoin reserves will grow significantly. Right now, the U.S. holds around 198,021 BTC, mostly from past seizures. Adding the new Bitcoin would bring the total to around 325,292 BTC, valued at about $36 billion, keeping the U.S. firmly in the lead as the world leader in government Bitcoin holdings, far ahead of other nations.
Meanwhile, this action is happening while the U.S. plans a national Strategic BTC Reserve. A few months ago, President Donald Trump signed an order proposing that the country use seized assets like this to start the reserve.
Furthermore, Senator Cynthia Lummis is pushing the BUTCOIN Act to make this reserve a law. In an x post, she stated that having a Bitcoin reserve is the “wisest thing” to do for the nation.
She believes it can help secure the nation’s debts because Bitcoin is a hard asset that is limited in supply. She also said it can be audited easily to prove the holdings. This historic seizure is a huge step toward making that national reserve a reality.
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