9/11 Victims File $671M Claim on 127,271 Bitcoin in U.S. LuBian Forfeiture Case

Published October 13, 2026, 21:50 UTC. Based on the Chairnoff Claimants' filings in United States v. Approximately 127,271 Bitcoin (E.D.N.Y. 25-cv-05745), the DOJ's October 2025 forfeiture complaint, and October 13 reporting by Crypto-Economy, TokenPost and CryptoTimes.

Ninety-five September 11 victims and family members have staked a claim to 127,271 Bitcoin seized by the U.S. government, filing an October 12 notice in the Justice Department's record civil forfeiture case against the coins, according to October 13 reports by Crypto-Economy and TokenPost. The group, known as the Chairnoff Claimants, says it holds more than $671 million in court judgments against Iran and argues the bitcoin belongs to an entity it describes as an Iranian agency.

The $671 million judgments against Iran

The claimants are representatives and surviving family members of 15 people killed in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. Court records show a U.S. district court found Iran liable in 2021 and later awarded them $671,157,680 in compensatory damages (Chairnoff v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 18-cv-12370, S.D.N.Y.). The judgments were served on Iran through diplomatic channels on or before October 1, 2024, according to the claimants' verification. Their new notice, filed in United States v. Approximately 127,271 Bitcoin, No. 25-cv-05745 (E.D.N.Y.), asks the court to recognize their interest in the seized coins. Their legal hook is the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, or TRIA, which allows holders of terrorism judgments to attach and execute against blocked assets of a terrorist state or its agencies and instrumentalities, even assets that have been seized by the U.S. government.

The LuBian link

The claimants say the 127,271 Bitcoin belongs to the Iran and China Investment Development Group, doing business as Lubian.com, which they describe as an agency or instrumentality of Iran, citing the related Fritz v. Iran and China Investment Development Group action (No. 25-cv-07093, E.D.N.Y.). The DOJ has described LuBian differently: its forfeiture complaint, filed October 14, 2025, calls it a Chinese mining operation with facilities in China and Iran, and alleges the coins are proceeds of wire fraud and money laundering tied to Chen Zhi, chairman of Cambodia's Prince Group. Chen was indicted on October 8, 2025 and the indictment unsealed on October 14, 2025, over forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia. His attorney, Matthew L. Schwartz, called the allegations seriously misguided, and Chen remains outside U.S. custody. The coins' origins remain contested: they were stolen from the LuBian mining pool in December 2020 in one of the largest crypto heists on record, and China in November 2025 accused the United States of orchestrating a state-level theft of them, a claim U.S. officials rejected while sticking to their lawful-seizure position.

A record stash with competing owners

The 127,271 BTC was worth about $14.7 billion when the DOJ filed its complaint and about $10.6 billion at current prices near $83,200, according to CoinDesk data. The case docket shows a crowd of competing claimants: LuBian itself, Chen Zhi, Prince Holding Group, fraud victims, insurers including AXA and Chubb, and several other groups of 9/11 victims who filed attachment motions in the Southern District of New York's terrorism multidistrict litigation in January 2026, per Justia's docket. Galaxy Research reported this week that the federal government's bitcoin balance stands at 319,086 BTC, with 71 percent of it sitting in two unsettled buckets: the LuBian coins and the Bitfinex hack recoveries. No court has ruled that the Chairnoff Claimants own any of the coins; the October 12 filing is a notice asserting their interest, not an award.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• The Chairnoff Claimants' verified claim and notice in United States v. Approximately 127,271 Bitcoin, No. 25-cv-05745 (E.D.N.Y.), Document 56-2, executed January 16, 2026, primary source for the $671,157,680 compensatory-damages total, the diplomatic service date on Iran, and the theory that Lubian.com is an agency or instrumentality of Iran
• The civil docket of United States v. Approximately 127,271 Bitcoin (E.D.N.Y.), primary source via Justia for the case number and the competing claimants including LuBian, Chen Zhi, Prince Holding Group, fraud victims and insurers
• The U.S. Justice Department's October 14, 2025 indictment of Chen Zhi and its civil forfeiture complaint, primary sources for the wire-fraud and money-laundering allegations, the October 8 indictment date and the forced-labor scam compound charges
• Crypto-Economy, "9/11 Victims Seek $671M From U.S. Bitcoin Seizure" (October 13, 2026), secondary source for the October 12 notice, the 95-claimant count and the World Trade Center victim details
• TokenPost, "Sept. 11 Claimants Seek Interest in 127,271 Bitcoin Forfeiture Case" (October 13, 2026), secondary source for the TRIA legal theory, the forfeiture-complaint background and the LuBian mining-operation details
• CoinDesk and ExchangeRate.guru, October 13, 2026 price data, secondary sources for the current bitcoin price near $83,200 and the October 2025 price context used in the valuation figures
• Galaxy Research, via October 2026 reporting, secondary source for the 319,086 BTC federal bitcoin balance and the 71 percent two-bucket figure