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TOKYO -- Criminal groups in Southeast Asia are believed to be forcing thousands of human trafficking victims to work on the front lines of online scams, raising alarm over the growing scale of their operations.
The U.S. Treasury Department in September imposed sanctions on Cambodian tycoon and lawmaker Ly Yong Phat, his L.Y.P. Group, and its O-Smach Resort, freezing their assets and banning them from U.S. transactions.
