U.S. Secret Service Seizes $25M+ in Cryptocurrency Across 5 International Fraud Cases

According to the U.S. Secret Service and Columbia District federal prosecutors, a cybercrime task force has seized over $25 million in cryptocurrency linked to international fraud schemes targeting U.S. and Canadian residents. The Washington D.C. federal prosecutors filed 5 civil forfeiture complaints seeking recovery of the assets. The largest case involved romance scams totaling approximately $12.1 million from over 200 victims, while a second case involving suspicious cryptocurrency wallets identified by Canadian authorities amounts to roughly $10.4 million. These two cases account for approximately 85% of the total assets across all 5 forfeiture complaints.

Investigators identified multiple money laundering networks and thousands of victims globally. Suspected money launderers are predominantly located in Southeast Asia, with identified internet protocol addresses linked to China, Malaysia, and Cambodia. The investigations remain ongoing.