Six Charged in Madagascar-Based Dating-Site Crypto Scam That Allegedly Drained Americans' Wallets

Federal prosecutors in Washington have charged six people accused of running a scam from Madagascar in which workers allegedly posed as attractive women on U.S. dating sites, then emptied victims' crypto wallets through fake NFT websites. Prosecutors say the money went to accounts tied to China-based actors.

Oct 27, 2026 - 20:07

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WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, unsealed charges against six people accused of running a romance-driven cryptocurrency scam from compounds in Madagascar. According to the Justice Department, workers posed as attractive women on U.S. dating sites, steered victims into fake NFT (non-fungible token) investments and then secretly drained their crypto wallets.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro of the District of Columbia announced the case at a press conference. Her office posted a clip of that press conference on Instagram under her verified handle, @judge_jeanine, with the caption: "They weaponized attraction and romance, using images of beautiful women to lure Americans into cryptocurrency scams, drain their wallets, and launder their funds through China."

All six defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. The allegations come from a criminal complaint affidavit and have not been tested at trial.

Who is charged

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It charges six people with conspiracy to commit wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1349:

Chui Kok Wa, identified in the affidavit as a Malaysian national and described by prosecutors as the scheme's leader
Gislen Neukeu, whose passport is described in the affidavit as issued by Cameroon
Shamusa Ninsiima
Clement Mugiraneza
Merveille Mudacumura
Nicodemus Hingima Monyancha, whose passport is described in the affidavit as issued by Kenya

The affidavit alleges that the conspiracy ran from at least January 2025 through about April 2026. None of the six is in U.S. custody. Pirro called on Madagascar to cooperate and extradite them.

How the alleged scheme worked

According to the Justice Department, a criminal group with ties to Malaysia and China opened scam compounds in Madagascar in early 2025. Prosecutors believe the group likely moved its operations there from Cambodia after law enforcement action in that country.

The FBI affidavit says scammers posing as "a beautiful woman" met victims on U.S. dating sites. They then persuaded victims to invest in NFTs and to link their crypto wallets to websites such as "inftvault.com" and "inftmeta.xyz." Once a wallet was linked, the scammers could pull funds from it without the victim's consent. They allegedly kept the romance going so victims would keep adding money, then emptied the wallets.

One victim in Greenbelt, Maryland, reported losing $11,926.12. According to the affidavit, the victim saw a small fake "gain" before two unauthorized withdrawals. One took 9,067.64 USDT (a dollar-pegged stablecoin) about 33 minutes after the victim deposited it.

Prosecutors say Wa's phones held employment contracts with overnight shifts in Madagascar, timed to U.S. daytime and evening hours, and bonuses tied to the amounts stolen. The phones also held scripts that described the work as "an emotional scam, using the [victim's] feelings for us to get him to invest."

How much was taken

The FBI says it traced about 74 victim crypto wallets on public blockchains, with estimated losses of at least about $516,695. The DOJ press release describes those 74 wallets as "associated with approximately 800 victims throughout the country." Victims named in the case were in Maryland, Oregon, Nevada and Minnesota, among other states.

The stolen funds were moved to crypto accounts "associated with Chinese-based actors," according to the Justice Department. A previously sealed warrant, also made public Tuesday, shows the government had already seized websites linked to the scheme.

The Madagascar raids

In August 2026, the FBI's Honolulu Field Office sent a team to Madagascar at the invitation of the country's Ministry of Justice and National Police. The team helped take down 13 scam compounds and examine more than 3,200 seized electronic devices.

According to the affidavit, Malagasy authorities detained about 400 people, including about 40 Chinese nationals. The Justice Department says Madagascar sent numerous suspects back to China before U.S. investigators could interview them.

Prosecutors also obtained a material witness warrant to interview 15 of Wa's workers. Those workers say Wa trafficked and abused them, and they are believed to be held in jail in Madagascar. The FBI affidavit says investigators have not been able to substantiate those claims and that some of the evidence may be inconsistent with them.

The Scam Center Strike Force

Pirro launched the Scam Center Strike Force on Nov. 12, 2025. It brings together her office, the Justice Department's Criminal Division, the FBI and the Secret Service to target "pig butchering" crypto-investment fraud run from scam compounds in Southeast Asia. The term comes from the scammers' own practice of "fattening" victims up before taking their money.

According to Tuesday's release, the Strike Force has so far:

restrained $1,006,460,156.82 in cryptocurrency
seized 700 fraudulent crypto investment websites
taken down thousands of Starlink terminals used by scam centers

Pirro also said the Strike Force is expanding to cover Africa, India and Europe.

The Madagascar case is being prosecuted jointly with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska.

The bigger picture

The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report says Americans reported nearly $21 billion in losses to cyber-enabled crime last year. Within that total:

Investment fraud: $8.65 billion in reported losses
Cryptocurrency investment fraud: $7.2 billion, the largest single source of losses
Romance and confidence scams: another $929 million

The FBI says scammers often make first contact through texts, social media or dating apps, then quickly move the conversation to a private messaging app.