Philippine Firm Blacklisted by U.S. for Enabling Over $200M Crypto Scam
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on Funnull Technology Inc., a company based in the Philippines, for allegedly providing technical support to a widespread cryptocurrency fraud operation targeting Americans.
According to a May 29 announcement, Funnull played a central role in operating infrastructure for hundreds of thousands of fraudulent websites tied to “pig butchering” schemes — scams in which victims are manipulated over time into making fake cryptocurrency investments. Losses linked to Funnull’s operations have reportedly exceeded $200 million in the U.S. alone, with the average victim losing over $150,000.
Funnull is accused of purchasing large volumes of IP addresses from global cloud service providers, which were then resold to scammers. These addresses were allegedly used to host phishing websites and fake investment platforms. The company is reportedly led by Chinese national Liu Lizhi, who coordinated the sale and technical setup of these services.
The FBI has linked Funnull to the majority of fraudulent crypto investment websites targeting U.S. users. Officials say the company played a key role in maintaining the infrastructure that enabled these scams to be so pervasive and difficult to trace.
To evade takedown efforts, Funnull allegedly used domain generation algorithms (DGAs) to produce numerous domain names with minor variations. This tactic allowed scammers to quickly replace sites that were taken offline. The firm also reportedly provided templates that helped criminals impersonate legitimate financial institutions, further deceiving victims.
In 2024, the company allegedly hijacked a software developer’s code repository, inserting malicious redirects that diverted users from genuine websites to scam and gambling pages — some of which have ties to Chinese money laundering networks.
These developments highlight the growing sophistication of crypto-enabled cybercrime, which continues to evolve despite increased global enforcement. As previously reported, Australia’s ASIC has cracked down on similar schemes, recently shutting down 95 companies involved in crypto fraud.
