US prosecutors charge six Africa-based scammers who ran an NFT wallet-draining ring from Madagascar and say the Scam Center Strike Force has restrained more than $1 billion in crypto

Federal prosecutors in Washington unsealed charges on Tuesday against six Africa-based scammers who ran their scheme from Madagascar, as the Scam Center Strike Force extends its work into Africa. The US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said a criminal group with ties to Malaysia and China set up compounds on the island in early 2025, probably after moving out of Cambodia when law enforcement moved in there.

Only one defendant is named. Chui Kok Wa is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud as the leader of a scheme in which workers posed as women on dating sites, persuaded victims to connect their crypto wallets to fake NFT investment websites, then drained the wallets without their knowledge. Prosecutors said Wa's phones held employment contracts with overnight shifts timed to US daytime and evening hours, bonuses tied to stolen money, and a script describing the operation as "an emotional scam." The release gives no total loss figure for the case.

US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said the Strike Force, launched in November 2025, has restrained $1,006,460,156.82 in cryptocurrency, taken down 700 fraudulent sites and thousands of Starlink terminals, and seized Telegram channels. An FBI team sent to Madagascar in August helped dismantle 13 compounds, but the office said its efforts to interview the individuals involved were stymied and that Madagascar repatriated numerous suspects to China before the investigation was complete. Pirro called on Madagascar to extradite the six.

Fifteen employees who say Wa trafficked and abused them are believed to be jailed in Madagascar, and prosecutors have obtained a material-witness warrant to interview them.