Federal Prosecutors Charge Vietnamese National in $16M Crypto Scheme
Trung Nguyen Van faces two money-laundering counts after wallets linked to him allegedly received $53.3 million tied to wire-fraud schemes.
Federal prosecutors charged Vietnamese national Trung Nguyen Van with allegedly laundering cryptocurrency from a pig-butchering scheme that prosecutors say took about $16 million from one victim.
Van, 37, faces two money-laundering counts in a criminal complaint filed in the Western District of Missouri. The complaint was unsealed after his initial appearance in federal court in Los Angeles on Sept. 24.
Prosecutors allege the victim transferred approximately $16 million in cryptocurrency between June and August 2024, believing the funds were being invested through a platform called “Triangle.” More than $569,000 was traced to a wallet linked to Van on Aug. 7, while six transfers totaling approximately $569,569 reached the wallet two days later.
Van allegedly moved approximately $567,999 in four transactions to a private, unhosted cryptocurrency wallet.
The case involves additional alleged activity. From Feb. 9, 2018, through Dec. 17, 2024, wallets linked to Van received approximately $53,275,939 in cryptocurrency assets tied to wire-fraud schemes targeting U.S. citizens. About $53,188,466 was transferred to other accounts off the centralized blockchain network.
Pig-butchering scams typically build trust through online relationships or unsolicited messages before directing victims to fake cryptocurrency investment platforms. The charges are allegations, and prosecutors must prove them in court.
