U.S. Attorney's office announces seizure of over $25M in cryptocurrency tied to global fraud

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced on Tuesday that it has seized over $25 million in cryptocurrency linked to multiple international fraud investigations. Federal prosecutors filed five civil forfeiture complaints seeking the forfeiture of digital assets obtained by the Secret Service Washington Field Office during five separate probes. These cases involve launderers whose IP addresses originated from Cambodia, China, and Malaysia, while the victims were based in Canada and the United States, including two individuals within the National Capital Region. The largest seizure in this batch of cases involves an online romance scam affecting over 200 victims. The Secret Service became aware of the scheme through a tip from an unspecified private sector partner. Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of more than $12 million in cryptocurrency associated with this case. This particular operation highlights the scale of financial loss suffered by individuals falling prey to sophisticated cybercrime tactics. Another major case involves a network of virtual currency wallets believed to be facilitating the transfer of illicit proceeds from over 270 victim transactions on fraudulent investment platforms. The Secret Service gained awareness of this activity through collaboration with Canadian authorities. In this instance, the government is pursuing the forfeiture of approximately $10.4 million in digital assets. A third case centers on a resident of the National Capital Region who, in March, sent money to a counterfeit investment account. During the course of the investigation, a second victim was identified. Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of nearly $2.4 million in cryptocurrency connected to this incident. Following this, there is a fourth case involving another individual in the National Capital Region who reported a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme in May after being denied access to their funds. Investigators traced the victim’s investments, leading to the seizure of over $1.23 million in digital assets. The U.S. attorney’s office did not specify the exact locations within the region where the victims resided at the time of the fraud. The final case involves a victim of unrelated fraud who was approached by scammers claiming to possess some of their stolen money. The victim paid a fee to the new scammers, followed by additional transactions in an attempt to retrieve the original funds. Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of approximately $285,000 in this case and are continuing efforts to recover further amounts. The U.S. attorney’s office emphasized that investigations into the identities of the perpetrators behind these scams remain active. “This $25 million seizure is a direct result of the Scam Center Strike Force I launched in November 2025, and it demonstrates the power of aggressively targeting these international fraud networks,” stated Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, in her office’s official statement. These actions underscore the increasing complexity of financial crimes in the digital age, particularly those involving cross-border operations and the use of cryptocurrencies to obscure illicit activities. As law enforcement agencies continue to refine their strategies against such threats, the recovery of stolen assets remains a critical component of broader efforts to combat organized crime in the global financial system.