Tens of thousands of scam workers released from Cambodian compounds face deportation obstacles, overstay fines, and humanitarian collapse as international aid systems fail. Investigative reporter Shibani Mahtani follows Ugandan scammer Schwebe's struggle to escape a $3,500 fine trap and return home after Cambodia's government crackdown abandons victims to streets and temples. Cambodian immigration officials impose $10-per-day overstay fines on migrant scam workers, totaling thousands of dollars that stranded people cannot pay, effectively imprisoning them in the country. Schweib's former scam boss promised to handle visa complications but blocked his calls when immigration flagged the overstay, forcing him to sleep in temples and beg for deportation. Journalist Mek Dara, jailed for reporting on Cambodia's scam industry, now funds basic survival aid for stranded migrants despite the government's repression and shutdown of independent media outlets. The US shutting down USAID in July 2025 forced Cambodia's only trafficking shelter to lay off staff and turn away hundreds of migrants weekly, leaving people vulnerable to re-recruitment into scams.