Fraud Ring Fakes "Mining Accelerator" to Illegally Absorb Funds; Criminal Investigation Bureau Arrests 12 Suspects
A fraud ring led by a man surnamed Tsai lured investors by falsely claiming to have developed a "BitHarvest" crypto mining accelerator. The Criminal Investigation Bureau arrested 12 suspects. The total financial loss exceeds NT$5 million.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 22, 2026 at 17:26
- 🔍 Collected: April 22, 2026 at 17:32 (5 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 08:55 (15h 23m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(CNA Reporter Huang Li-yun, Taipei, 22nd) A fraud and illegal fund-absorption ring led by a man surnamed Tsai falsely claimed on multiple social networking sites to have developed a "BitHarvest" mining accelerator. They frequently held offline briefing sessions and luxury tours to lure people into investing money. After a long period of investigation and evidence gathering, the Criminal Investigation Bureau arrested 12 suspects, including Tsai, and brought them to justice.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau of the National Police Agency held a press conference this afternoon to announce the solving of the case. Lin Han-lung, Deputy Commander of the Seventh Investigation Corps, stated that they recently received reports from citizens. Combining this with the cryptocurrency information the police had gathered, they discovered that an offshore fund-absorption group was using the name "BitHarvest." Through a friend's connection, Tsai organized a "BTO Team" in Taiwan, promoting it via social networks like IG, Threads, and YouTube to trick people into investing.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau formed a joint task force with the Taipei City Police Department, New Taipei City Police Department, and Taichung City Police Department. Through long-term tracking and evidence gathering, they found that since March 2024, Tsai and other suspects have been falsely claiming to the public that they had developed a revolutionary "mining accelerator." However, it was actually an empty device with a USB interface. They also fabricated that the technology was developed by "core members of the Ethereum team," patented in Malaysia, and operated by a "Malaysian Datuk."
To build a professional image, the group also designed a miner mascot named "BitBull," symbolizing a bull market in the mining business. They frequently held offline briefing sessions and luxury tours, tricking the public into believing them and investing their money.
In addition, the group simultaneously launched the "BTH Coin" and "MONO Cold Wallet" APPs. Group members publicly claimed to have established a complete ecosystem of "own coin, own chain." However, the so-called "BitHarvest chain" was actually a ledger controlled by the suspects in the backend, and the mining amounts shown on the frontend of the website and APP were entirely fabricated out of thin air by the suspects themselves.
The police initially found that 10 victims have reported the case, stating that they mistakenly believed the "mining accelerator" could earn passive income and invested huge sums of money, leading to a total loss of their investments. The known total financial loss exceeds NT$5 million. Among them, a retired woman in Taipei City lost over a million NTD.
Seeing that the time was ripe, the task force launched simultaneous search operations on February 2 in Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, and Taichung. They arrested 12 suspects on the spot, including the ringleader Tsai, who has a record of fraud and money laundering, executive Hung, salesman Hsieh, and administrator Chang. At the time, Tsai was still at the scene holding a briefing session, spinning dreams of wealth for many people.
At the same time, the police also seized stolen goods and evidence, including fake "mining accelerator" USB devices, BitBull mascot figures, a large number of exquisite promotional materials, gifts, and a Porsche luxury car.
The task force estimates that the scale of victimization in this case is huge and could involve hundreds of people. They urge citizens who have purchased the "mining accelerator" or "BTH" to prepare relevant materials such as chat records, transfer data, or transaction records and go to the nearest police station to file a report to protect their rights and interests.
After questioning, the entire case was transferred to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office for investigation on suspicion of offenses including fraud under the Criminal Code, the Money Laundering Control Act, and the Organized Crime Prevention Act. Among them, Tsai and Hung were detained, while the other suspects were released on bail ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$100,000.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau warns that fraud groups often use "crypto tech," "professional jargon," and "celebrity endorsements" to package fake investment projects. When encountering claims of "guaranteed profit, high returns," the public must remain highly vigilant. (Editor: Hsiao Po-wen) 1150422
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(CNA Reporter Huang Li-yun, Taipei, 22nd) A fraud and illegal fund-absorption ring led by a man surnamed Tsai falsely claimed on multiple social networking sites to have developed a "BitHarvest" mining accelerator. They frequently held offline briefing sessions and luxury tours to lure people into investing money. After a long period of investigation and evidence gathering, the Criminal Investigation Bureau arrested 12 suspects, including Tsai, and brought them to justice.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau of the National Police Agency held a press conference this afternoon to announce the solving of the case. Lin Han-lung, Deputy Commander of the Seventh Investigation Corps, stated that they recently received reports from citizens. Combining this with the cryptocurrency information the police had gathered, they discovered that an offshore fund-absorption group was using the name "BitHarvest." Through a friend's connection, Tsai organized a "BTO Team" in Taiwan, promoting it via social networks like IG, Threads, and YouTube to trick people into investing.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau formed a joint task force with the Taipei City Police Department, New Taipei City Police Department, and Taichung City Police Department. Through long-term tracking and evidence gathering, they found that since March 2024, Tsai and other suspects have been falsely claiming to the public that they had developed a revolutionary "mining accelerator." However, it was actually an empty device with a USB interface. They also fabricated that the technology was developed by "core members of the Ethereum team," patented in Malaysia, and operated by a "Malaysian Datuk."
To build a professional image, the group also designed a miner mascot named "BitBull," symbolizing a bull market in the mining business. They frequently held offline briefing sessions and luxury tours, tricking the public into believing them and investing their money.
In addition, the group simultaneously launched the "BTH Coin" and "MONO Cold Wallet" APPs. Group members publicly claimed to have established a complete ecosystem of "own coin, own chain." However, the so-called "BitHarvest chain" was actually a ledger controlled by the suspects in the backend, and the mining amounts shown on the frontend of the website and APP were entirely fabricated out of thin air by the suspects themselves.
The police initially found that 10 victims have reported the case, stating that they mistakenly believed the "mining accelerator" could earn passive income and invested huge sums of money, leading to a total loss of their investments. The known total financial loss exceeds NT$5 million. Among them, a retired woman in Taipei City lost over a million NTD.
Seeing that the time was ripe, the task force launched simultaneous search operations on February 2 in Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, and Taichung. They arrested 12 suspects on the spot, including the ringleader Tsai, who has a record of fraud and money laundering, executive Hung, salesman Hsieh, and administrator Chang. At the time, Tsai was still at the scene holding a briefing session, spinning dreams of wealth for many people.
At the same time, the police also seized stolen goods and evidence, including fake "mining accelerator" USB devices, BitBull mascot figures, a large number of exquisite promotional materials, gifts, and a Porsche luxury car.
The task force estimates that the scale of victimization in this case is huge and could involve hundreds of people. They urge citizens who have purchased the "mining accelerator" or "BTH" to prepare relevant materials such as chat records, transfer data, or transaction records and go to the nearest police station to file a report to protect their rights and interests.
After questioning, the entire case was transferred to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office for investigation on suspicion of offenses including fraud under the Criminal Code, the Money Laundering Control Act, and the Organized Crime Prevention Act. Among them, Tsai and Hung were detained, while the other suspects were released on bail ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$100,000.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau warns that fraud groups often use "crypto tech," "professional jargon," and "celebrity endorsements" to package fake investment projects. When encountering claims of "guaranteed profit, high returns," the public must remain highly vigilant. (Editor: Hsiao Po-wen) 1150422
Choose to stand with the facts; every sponsorship you make is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the CNA "First Hand News" APP to grasp the latest news instantly.
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and utilized without authorization.