According to federal government ‘ Thursday statement of police steps, a North Korea-linked Thai organization has allegedly obtained billions of dollars from US citizens since August 2021 through love scams and digital fraud.
Through social media messages and writings, promoting false opportunities and “pig butchering” plans, North Vietnamese and other criminal organizations have benefited from Huione Group, an online market.
These lies, which are prevalent on dating and professional networking sites, have targeted US pensioners and others, enticed them to invest in cryptocurrency and other digital assets before ultimately defrauding them.
Huione’s subsidiaries Huione Pay PLC, Huione Crypto, and Haowang Guarantee support various aspects of the operation, accounting for more than$ 4 billion between August 2021 and January 2025.
The US Treasury’s FinCEN exclusively revealed to The New York Post that$ 37 million was used to support North Korean cyber operations, while$ 36 million was used for romance and investment schemes.
The Treasury is proposing rules to restrict the Cambodian company’s access to US financial systems.
In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that” Huione Group has established itself as the marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors like the DPRK [ North Korea ] and criminal syndicates, who have stolen billions of dollars from regular Americans.
Beth Hyland, 53, described her experience as a Tinder fraudster in 2024, losing$ 26, 000 through Bitcoin transactions. The scammer, who is based in Nigeria, posed as a construction manager and manipulated her by making false pretenses about a shared life and marriage.
Legislation that requires dating platforms to notify users who have used known scams has been introduced by Senator Marsha Blackburn and her colleagues.
The group’s failure to maintain proper customer verification and anti-money laundering protocols, including overlooking direct transfers from North Korean scam operations, was the subject of the action against Huione under Section 311 of the PATRIOT Act.
