Michael Sullivan

For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Prince Holding Group chairman Chen Zhe was charged by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, who also accused Chen with exploiting forced labor to scam would-be investors out of billions.

U.S.

officials say the multinational Prince Holding Group was a front for what the Justice Department says was one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organizations.

It called the indictment, quote, "...one of the most significant strikes ever against the global scourge of human trafficking and cyber-enabled financial fraud."

Last year, American citizens lost an estimated $10 billion to such Southeast Asia-based scams, according to the Treasury Department.

If convicted, Chen faces up to 40 years in prison.

For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai.

Matmos strengthened after leaving the Philippines with sustained wind speeds nearing 100 mph as it neared southern Guangdong Province, according to China's National Meteorological Center.

That prompted authorities to issue a red-level typhoon warning, the nation's highest, and to evacuate more than 150,000 people in the typhoon's path.

Hainan Province, which is also in the pathway of the storm, canceled flights and shut down public transport and businesses starting Saturday in preparation for Matmo's arrival.

China's Yunnan Province and parts of northern Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand are also expecting heavy rain as the storm moves inland.

For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai, Thailand.