Hunan Police in China Bust Virtual Currency 'Pig Butchering' Scam, Two Suspects Criminally Detained

BlockBeats news, September 22 — According to a notice from the public security authorities of Linwu County, Hunan Province, China, on August 19, 2026, the public security authorities of Linwu County, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, discovered fraud leads during routine screening and successfully cracked a virtual currency investment fraud case, arresting two criminal suspects successively.

Investigation revealed that on May 1, 2026, criminal suspect Li Mou contacted victim Ms. Yue via private message on a social platform, falsely claiming he could teach virtual currency investment techniques with guaranteed returns, and induced her to download a certain APP to purchase Tether (USDT), then exchange it for newly issued virtual currencies operated by his "upper handler." Li Mou, together with the "upper handler," artificially drove up the coin price to create the illusion of gains, constantly enticing the victim to increase her investment; once the funds were in place, they quickly dumped the coins, causing the virtual currency's value to drop to zero. Ms. Yue lost approximately 30,000 yuan, while Li Mou illegally profited tens of thousands of yuan. The illicit funds were collected on his behalf by his friend Lei Mou and then squandered entirely.

On August 19, investigating officers arrested Li Mou; on September 17, Lei Mou, suspected of collecting illicit funds on his behalf, was also arrested and brought to justice. Both were criminally detained in accordance with the law. The case is currently under further investigation.

Police reminder: Virtual currency is not legal tender, and there is no such thing as a "guaranteed profit" project. Any private online message recommending investments and promising high returns is a fraud trap. Do not readily trust strangers' investment recommendations or transfer funds to unfamiliar platforms.