Federal authorities have smashed what they describe as a sprawling $18.9 billion criminal empire, after a pre‑dawn raid on a luxury estate outside Miami triggered 489 arrests in coordinated operations across the United States.

FBI agents and ICE Homeland Security Investigations officers, backed by tactical teams, swept through the oceanfront compound, seizing servers, ledgers and encrypted devices that allegedly linked the property to a nationwide web of shell companies, fake trade deals and large‑scale visa fraud.

According to officials, the estate functioned as the “nerve center” of a syndicate that laundered billions through high‑end real estate, cryptocurrency and offshore accounts, while exploiting migrant labor and stolen identities to mask the money flow. Among the assets seized: luxury cars, private jets’ flight logs, rare art and gold bars stacked in a hidden vault.

“This is one of the largest joint financial crime operations in modern U.S. history,” a senior Justice Department source said, adding that additional arrests overseas are expected.

Neighbors described a surreal scene of armored vehicles, helicopters and a line of detainees in handcuffs stretching down the gated driveway, as social media lit up with live videos and speculation.

Lawmakers are already demanding answers about how such a vast network operated undetected for years, calling for tighter scrutiny of opaque real‑estate purchases and anonymous companies. For many Americans, today’s raid feels less like a single bust — and more like an alarming X‑ray of a hidden economy thriving in plain sight.