Category: MIL-OSI

BOSTON – A Malden, Mass. woman has been arrested and charged for threatening to kill federal agents who were engaging in lawful immigration enforcement.

Bethany Abigail Terrill, 37, was charged with threatening a United States official. Terrill will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston at 1:30 pm, today.

According to the charging documents, federal agents were supporting Immigration Enforcement and Removal Operations in effecting the administrative immigration arrest of individuals in the area of Malden District Court. It is alleged that the agents encountered Terrill outside of Malden Court for reasons unrelated to the agents’ activities.

It is alleged that Terrill physically interjected herself into the middle of agents while they were effecting an arrest. Terrill was allegedly verbally abusive, attempted to physically interfere with the arrest and ultimately made threatening statements to kill the federal officers on scene. 

Specifically, Terrill allegedly approached the agents, screaming at and pushing through the agents to capture a video recording on her mobile telephone. It is further alleged that Terrill began screaming, “ICE is here, ICE is here,” “You guys are monsters, this is insane,” “Sir, what’s your name, what’s your name,” “I can try to help you,” and “I am an American civilian, I have a right to be here” as she continuously pushed into agents all while filming them.

Agents, who were identifiable by their badges, agency placards and clothing, told Terrill to “back up” several times. It is alleged that Terrill repeatedly attempted to push past the agents and failed to comply with any commands. Agents notified Terrill that she could be arrested if she continued to fail to comply with their requests to give them space to safely effect the arrest.

Terrill allegedly yelled, “Charlie Kirk died, and we love it… We’re coming for you, gonna kill you.” The incident was captured on agents’ body worn cameras and allegedly on Terrill’s mobile telephone. 

The charge of threatening a United States official provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.  

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law. 

Roger Ver, an early bitcoin investor known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department to resolve federal tax charges brought against him. Under the agreement, Ver has paid the IRS nearly $50 million in back taxes, penalties, and interest stemming from his willful failure to properly report his bitcoin holdings on tax returns when he expatriated from the United States in 2014. Today, the government has moved to dismiss the indictment against him.

The following is according to the deferred prosecution agreement: Starting in 2011, Ver began acquiring bitcoins. Over the years, he avidly promoted them, even obtaining the moniker “Bitcoin Jesus.” In March 2014, Ver renounced his U.S. citizenship after obtaining citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis, a process known as expatriation. Due to his net worth, Ver was required to file certain expatriation-related tax returns and to pay taxes on the capital gains on his world-wide assets, including his bitcoins.

In the agreement, Ver admitted that when he filed these returns in May 2016, he did not report all his bitcoins and pay the required capital gains tax on their constructive sale. Ver admitted that his failure to report capital gains from all these bitcoins caused a loss to the United States of $16,864,105. Ver admitted that the understatement of tax caused by his failure to report ownership of all his bitcoins was willful, which is legally defined as the intentional violation of a known legal duty. Accordingly, Ver admitted he owed the maximum penalty available under 26 U.S.C. § 6663 of more than $12 million, as well as interest on the taxes and penalties.

Associate Deputy Attorney General Ketan D. Bhirud of the Justice Department’s Office of the Deputy Attorney General; Acting United States Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California; and Kareem Carter, Executive Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office made the announcement.

“We are pleased that Mr. Ver has taken responsibility for his past misconduct and satisfied his obligations to the American public. This resolution sends a clear message: whether you deal in dollars or digital assets, you must file accurate tax returns and pay what you owe,” said Associate Deputy Attorney General Ketan D. Bhirud.

“Mr. Ver is accepting responsibility for his actions and has agreed to pay a substantial penalty,” said Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “Every person, whether you’re a millionaire or not, is required by law to pay taxes and we will not hesitate to hold anyone accountable.”

“Today’s resolution demonstrates that there are consequences for those who intentionally conceal their assets and evade their tax obligations,” said Kareem Carter, Executive Special Agent in Charge. “No matter how sophisticated the technology or the asset, IRS-CI will continue to follow the money, ensure compliance, and protect the integrity of our tax system.”

The Cyber Crimes Unit of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C. Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant Chief Matthew J. Kluge and Trial Attorney Peter J. Anthony of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney James. C. Hughes of the Central District of California prosecuted the case.

BROOKLYN, NY – An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Chen Zhi, also known as “Vincent,” the founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group (Prince Group), a multinational business conglomerate based in Cambodia, with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy for directing Prince Group’s operation of forced-labor scam compounds across Cambodia.  Individuals held against their will in the compounds engaged in cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes, known as “pig butchering” scams, that stole billions of dollars from victims in the United States and around the world.  The defendant is at large.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Department’s National Security Division also filed today a civil forfeiture complaint against approximately 127,271 bitcoin, currently worth approximately $15 billion, that are proceeds and instrumentalities of the defendant’s fraud and money laundering schemes, and were previously stored in unhosted cryptocurrency wallets whose private keys the defendant had in his possession.  Those funds (the Defendant Cryptocurrency) are presently in the custody of the U.S. government.  The complaint is the largest forfeiture action in the history of the Department of Justice.

United States Attorney General Pamela Bondi; Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John A. Eisenberg,  Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Frank A Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA New York), and William Ferrari , Deputy Assistant Director, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Office of Investigations, announced the indictment and forfeiture action.

“As alleged, the defendant directed one of the largest investment fraud operations in history, fueling an illicit industry that is reaching epidemic proportions,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Prince Group’s investment scams have caused billions of dollars in losses and untold misery to victims around the world, including here in New York, on the backs of individuals who have been trafficked and forced to work against their will.  This historic indictment and forfeiture complaint send a strong message to fraudsters everywhere that we will pursue you no matter where you are, no matter who you are, and no matter your insidious methods, and we will never stop fighting for victims.”

“As alleged, the defendant was the mastermind behind a sprawling cyber-fraud empire operating under the Prince Group umbrella, a criminal enterprise built on human suffering.  Trafficked workers were confined in prison-like compounds and forced to carry out online scams on an industrial scale, preying on thousands worldwide, including many here in the United States,” stated Assistant Attorney General Eisenberg.  “This indictment and historic forfeiture, the largest in Department history, reflect our commitment to using every tool at our disposal to ensure such crimes do not pay.”

“Chen Zhi, the chairman of Prince Group, a transnational criminal organization, allegedly orchestrated an international cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme and labor trafficking network to steal billions of dollars from thousands of victims,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “Zhi allegedly victimized countless individuals: forcing thousands to serve as trapped accomplices and targeting countless others for their wallets.  By leveraging his co-conspirators and political influence, this alleged operation plagued all corners of the globe and evaded law enforcement detection for years.  Today’s indictment and historical forfeiture action demonstrates the FBI’s relentless determination to eradicate all unlawful revenue streams fueling criminal activity no matter where they are in the world. 

“Once again, we see the tremendous success of DEA’s Trident Initiative, an initiative built with our federal law enforcement partners to target and dismantle sophisticated criminal networks and their leadership, operating across the globe,” stated DEA New York Special Agent in Charge Tarentino.  “This investigation exposes a staggering level of fraud, corruption, and criminal greed that allowed billions of dollars in illicit funds to flow through global financial systems, leaving behind a trail of victims.  It also highlights how transnational criminal organizations continue to evolve, leveraging cryptocurrency and other digital assets to move their money and mask their crimes.  Money laundering isn’t a victimless crime, it fuels drug trade, funds violence, and undermines the rule of law.  The DEA remains committed to tracing every dollar, following every transaction, and bringing those who abuse our financial networks to justice.”

“This case is a powerful example of the DSS global footprint and our ability to collaborate seamlessly with both U.S. and international law enforcement on complex, multi-jurisdictional fraud schemes,” stated DSS Deputy Assistant Director Ferrari.  “Every day, DSS and our partners around the world are conducting investigations just like this, disrupting transnational criminal networks and protecting U.S. interests abroad.”

As alleged in the indictment and forfeiture complaint, since approximately 2015, the defendant has been the founder and chairman of Prince Group, a Cambodian corporate conglomerate that operates dozens of business entities in more than 30 countries.  Prince Group is ostensibly focused on real estate development, financial services, and consumer services.  However, in secret, the defendant and his top executives grew Prince Group into one of Asia’s largest transnational criminal organizations.  Under the defendant’s direction, Prince Group made enormous profits operating scam compounds across Cambodia that perpetrated fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes.

To perpetrate these schemes, malicious actors contacted unwitting victims through messaging or social media applications and convinced them to transfer cryptocurrency to specified accounts based on false promises that the funds would be invested and generate profits.  In reality, the funds were stolen from the victims and laundered for the benefit of the perpetrators.  The scam perpetrators often built relationships with their victims over time, earning their trust before stealing their funds.

Prince Group’s schemes targeted victims around the world, including in the United States, with assistance from local networks working on Prince Group’s behalf.  One such network operated in Brooklyn, New York and facilitated the fraudulent transfer and laundering of millions of dollars on behalf of Prince Group from over 250 victims in New York and across the country.

Prince Group carried out these schemes by trafficking hundreds of workers and forcing them to work in compounds in Cambodia and execute the scams, often under the threat of violence.  The compounds housed vast dormitories surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, and functioned as violent forced labor camps.  The defendant was directly involved in managing the scam compounds and maintained records associated with each one, including ledgers tracking profits and which fraudulent schemes were run out of which rooms.  The defendant also maintained documents describing and depicting “phone farms” at the compounds: automated call centers that used thousands of phones and millions of mobile telephone numbers to facilitate the various fraudulent schemes.  The defendant was directly involved in using violence against the individuals within the forced labor camps and possessed images of Prince Group’s violent methods, including photographs depicting beatings and other methods of torture.  The defendant communicated directly with his subordinates about beating individuals who “caused trouble,” in one case specifying that the victims should not be “beaten to death.”

In furtherance of these schemes, the defendant and a close network of Prince Group’s top executives used their political influence in multiple foreign countries to protect their criminal enterprise and paid bribes to public officials to avoid disruption by law enforcement.  They subsequently laundered the proceeds of the fraudulent schemes through professional money laundering operations and through Prince Group’s own network of ostensibly legal business enterprises, including its online gambling and cryptocurrency mining operations.

At the defendant’s direction, Prince Group associates used sophisticated cryptocurrency laundering techniques to obscure the source of fraudulent Prince Group profits, including “spraying” and “funneling” techniques in which large volumes of cryptocurrency were repeatedly disaggregated across scores of virtual currency addresses and then re-consolidated into fewer addresses to obscure the source of the funds.  Some of these criminal proceeds were ultimately held in wallets at cryptocurrency exchanges or exchanged for traditional currency and stored in traditional bank accounts.  Other criminal proceeds included the Defendant Cryptocurrency, which was stored in unhosted cryptocurrency wallets whose private keys the defendant personally held.  The defendant maintained diagrams recording the process by which some of the Defendant Cryptocurrency was laundered.  The defendant boasted to others of Prince Group’s mining businesses that “the profit is considerable because there is no cost”—that is, unlike legitimate enterprises, the operating capital for the cryptocurrency mining businesses comprised money stolen from Prince Group’s many victims.

The defendant and his co-conspirators subsequently used some of the criminal proceeds for luxury travel and entertainment and to make extravagant purchases such as watches, yachts, private jets, vacation homes, high-end collectables, and rare artwork, including a Picasso painting purchased through an auction house in New York City.

The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI New York Joint Asian Criminal Enterprise Task Force with assistance from the FBI’s Virtual Asset Unit.

In parallel with today’s actions by the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury today designated Prince Group as a transnational criminal organization and announced sanctions against the defendant and multiple associated individuals and entities, for their roles in illicit activity.  The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office also announced sanctions.     

If you have information about Chen Zhi or Prince Group, please contact the FBI at PrinceGroupTips@fbi.gov.  According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center’s 2024 Internet Crime Report, cryptocurrency investment fraud caused more than $5.8 billion in reported losses in 2024 alone.  You can learn more about cryptocurrency investment fraud here:  https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/victim-services/national-crimes-and-victim-resources/cryptocurrency-investment-fraud.  Members of the public who believe they are victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud and other cyber-enabled crime should contact the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov. 

The government’s case is being handled by the Eastern District of New York’s National Security and Cybercrime, Asset Recovery, Business and Securities Fraud, and Public Integrity Sections.  Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander F. Mindlin, Andrew D. Reich, Benjamin Weintraub and Rebecca M. Schuman are in charge of the prosecution, in partnership with Deputy Chief Christopher B. Brown of the National Security Division’s NatSec Cyber Section, and Assistant United States Attorney Tanisha Payne of the Eastern District of New York’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.

The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance during the investigation.  The Office also thanks the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the Isle of Man Constabulary’s Proactive International Money-Laundering Investigations Team and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, which also announced sanctions today against entities related to Prince Group.

The Defendant:

CHEN ZHI (also known as “Vincent”) 
Age: 37
United Kingdom and Cambodia

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-312

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CV-5745