US, Britain to coordinate on scam center takedowns
The United States and United Kingdom will work together on an initiative to shut down scam centers stealing billions of dollars through investment and romance fraud schemes.
In a memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday, Department of Justice officials agreed to conduct parallel investigations and share information on the organized crime syndicates behind the scam centers — many of which are headquartered in Southeast Asia.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro met with senior officials from the U.K.’s National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecutor on Thursday to sign the memorandum. Pirro said their goal was to “disable” the Chinese gangs that run the scam compounds.
As part of the memorandum, the two countries will “discuss which jurisdictions to bring specific cases of common interest, and generally prioritize cases on this threat to achieve mutual results.”
