FBI San Diego investigation leads to seizure of fake cryptocurrency investment domain used by Tai Chang scam compound in Burma: 400 San Diegans victimized

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East County News Service

December 3, 2025 (San Diego) – An investigation led by the FBI’s San Diego Field office has resulted in the Scam Center Strike force seizing a third web domain used to defraud countless Americans, including at least 400 victims in San Diego.  

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies announced seizure of the domain Tickmmilleas used by scammers at the Tai Chang scam compound in Burma, also known as Casino Kosai. Two prior domains used in the scam were previously seized.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the domain seizure, Tai Chang is affiliated with the Burmese armed group, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and Trans Asia International Holding Group Thailand Company Limited (Trans Asia), which were designated by the Department of the Treasury, among others, as specially-designated nationals on November 12, 2025, for links to Chinese organized crime and development of scam centers in Southeast Asia. 

Locally, FBI San Diego’s investigation revealed Tai Chang's recent targeting of Americans included a San Diegan, whom the FBI was able to warn about the scheme before that person lost any money. 

Based on information provided to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), more than 400 San Diegans fell victim to this CIF scam, which the media commonly describes as "pig butchering," in fiscal year 2024 with an estimated loss of approximately $90 million. However, the FBI believes this to be a fraction of the total scope of losses given that many victims do not report their losses to law enforcement.

Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement were Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Department of Justice, and Special Agent in Charge Mark Dargis of the FBI San Diego Field Office.

According to the affidavit filed in support of today’s announced seizure, the tickmilleas.com domain was disguised as a legitimate investment platform to trick victims into depositing their funds. Victims who used the domain reported to the FBI that the site showed lucrative returns on what they believed to be their investments and displayed purported deposits made by scammers to the victims’ “accounts” when the scammers walked the victims through supposed trades.

Despite the seized domains having just been registered in early November, the FBI has already identified multiple victims who used the domain in the last month to send cryptocurrency as part of what they believed were legitimate investments and were scammed out of their money. 

The Scam Center Strike Force seeks to collaborate with cooperative private sector companies to thwart CIF scam centers. 

The tickmilleas.com domain directed users to download mobile applications linked to the scam from Google Play and the Apple App Store. 

The FBI notified Google and Apple of the fraudulent tickmilleas-associated apps, and several of the apps have been removed voluntarily from these stores. 

As part of the Scam Center Strike Force’s efforts at public-private partnership, the Strike Force worked with Meta to identify accounts associated with the Tai Chang compound. Meta voluntarily removed approximately 2000 accounts as part of the collaborative effort. 

Following the seizure, a splash page will be placed on the tickmilleas.com website that warns victims who have been directed to use the domain that it has now been seized by law enforcement, thereby disrupting the intended CIF scam activity and money laundering tied to the domain. 

Additionally, the Scam Center Strike Force has deployed FBI agents to Bangkok, who are working alongside the Royal Thai Police in their War Room Task Force, to investigate and combat scam compounds, including Tai Chang and other compounds in Burma.

The Scam Center Strike Force is targeting many of the worst scam compounds located in Southeast Asia. According to the FBI, Chinese transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) are using CIF scams and a variety of confidence scams to steal the life savings of everyday Americans. Strike Force teams are focused on identifying and pursuing key leaders—including Chinese organized crime affiliates operating in Burma, Cambodia, and Laos—to bring them to justice. 

These CIF schemes, which fraudsters refer to as “pig butchering” because they are “fattening” up their victims before defrauding them, are often run out of scam compounds in Southeast Asia. Using U.S. social media networks or text messages to U.S.-based cell phones, the scammers target their victims, gain their trust, and convince them to invest in real cryptocurrency, only to then trick their victims to transfer those funds into fake cryptocurrency investment websites and applications. 

Workers in the scam compounds often are victims of human trafficking, held against their will, abused, and guarded by armed groups as they are instructed to target Americans. In some of the Southeast Asian countries where these compounds operate, scam-generated revenue is so massive that it amounts to nearly half of the country’s GDP. Recent reporting estimates that this scam industry defrauds Americans of nearly $9-10 billion per year.

If you have been defrauded out of your money by a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme, the FBIencourages you to submit a complaint to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. If you were directed to use tickmilleas.com as part of a scam, reference “tickmilleas.com” in your complaint.

If you have information to report about past or ongoing activity regarding the Tai Chang scam compound (coordinates 16°28'20.9"N 98°38'45.1"E and 16°28'02.1"N 98°38'54.1"E), please contact the FBI at fbisd_fraudresponse@fbi.gov.

To learn more about cryptocurrency investment fraud scams, tips to avoid becoming a victim, and how to report, visit the FBI’s website at www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/victim-services/national-crimes-and-victim-resources/cryptocurrency-investment-fraud.

 

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