Key action and allegation
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on Kok An, a Cambodian senator, along with 28 named individuals and entities. Treasury said the group used romance-based fraud schemes to steal millions of dollars from U.S. citizens by persuading victims to transfer savings in the form of digital assets under false promises of high returns, then taking the funds.
Political protection and physical locations
Treasury alleges Kok An leveraged his political connections to shield a network of scam centers and the operators who ran them. Officials named multiple companies connected to him, including Crown Resorts, and identified properties that house what Treasury described as scam compounds.
Human trafficking and coercion
Treasury said people who had been trafficked reported that they, along with thousands of others, were brought to these compounds and forced under threat of violence to steal money from Americans. Those allegations were part of the rationale for targeting the individuals and entities with sanctions.
Inter-agency enforcement and related actions
The inter-agency Scam Center Strike Force announced it had brought charges against two individuals accused of operating a scam compound in Burma and attempting to establish an additional compound in Cambodia. The strike force also reported it seized a social media messaging application used to recruit victims of human trafficking and took control of 503 fraudulent web domains that were used to carry out cryptocurrency investment fraud.
U.S. government statements and rewards
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was quoted saying: "Eliminating fraud is a top priority for the Trump administration. Treasury will continue to target fraudsters and scam centers that steal billions of dollars from hardworking Americans, no matter where they operate or how well-connected they are."
Separately, the U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $10 million for information that would lead to the seizure or recovery of proceeds tied to a separate scam compound in Burma that had been placed under sanctions last November.
Response from Cambodian officials
No comment was immediately available from the Cambodian embassy.
This report presents details as provided by U.S. enforcement authorities about the sanctions, criminal charges and asset seizures related to alleged romance scam operations involving Cambodia and Burma.