[Video] FBI Reports Operation Blackout Results: Over $17 Billion Seized from Overseas Scam Compounds, More Than 20 Compounds Demolished
Washington — FBI Director Kash Patel laid out the results of Operation Blackout at a White House roundtable on cybercrime and scams on October 21: the FBI, working with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Attorney's offices, has seized more than $17 billion from overseas scam compounds and destroyed and demolished more than 20 compounds run by criminal syndicates. The roundtable was chaired by President Donald Trump, and the FBI released video of Patel's remarks on October 22.
Patel said the scam centres are "literally towns and ecosystems" holding trafficked people, where criminal syndicates have built an empire to fleece American citizens, across Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East. "They moved to Africa. We got them there, too," he said. "Just two weeks ago, we were in Ghana, Nigeria, and we arrested another 300 individuals and seized another $15 million being fleeced from American senior citizens through these scam centre operations." He said the crackdown has also prevented 11,000 Americans from being fleeced of a combined $675 million.
Attorney General Todd Blanche told the roundtable that prosecutors and agents have restrained nearly $1 billion stolen from Americans, and that in April the FBI and Dubai Police announced the arrests of at least 276 individuals and the dismantlement of at least nine scam centres that targeted Americans, with charges unsealed against the networks' managers and recruiters.
President Trump said Americans reported losing more than $20 billion to cyber-enabled crimes over the past year and that almost three-quarters of American adults have been subjected to internet scams or cyber attacks. Federal law enforcement, he said, has warned more than 10,000 Americans who were being targeted this year, preventing at least $1.6 billion in losses, and has frozen nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency tied to foreign scammers and shut down more than 500 fraudulent websites. Also at the table were Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, among other officials.
In March, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to work together to combat online fraud and establishing a victims' restoration program. GSM previously reported the White House roundtable in full.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：联邦调查局（FBI）局长 Kash Patel（左）在白宫圆桌会上公布 Operation Blackout 战果，中为国防部长 Pete Hegseth，右为特朗普总统。FBI 官方视频截图。Photo: FBI Director Kash Patel (left) presents Operation Blackout results at the White House roundtable, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (center) and President Donald Trump (right). Still from the official FBI video.
