Key Takeaways
Five civil forfeiture complaints cover more than $25 million in cryptocurrency.The two largest complaints involve romance scams and fraudulent investment platforms.Investigators traced much of the laundering activity to Southeast Asia.
Five Investigations Target Millions in Stolen Crypto
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office announced on July 21 that the cases span multiple investigations into cryptocurrency fraud schemes conducted by the Cyber Fraud Task Force. The announcement stated:
“Multiple investigations conducted by its Cyber Fraud Task Force have resulted in the seizure of more than $25 million in cryptocurrency tied to international fraud schemes targeting residents of the United States and Canada.”
Federal prosecutors in D.C. filed five civil forfeiture complaints seeking forfeiture of the recovered cryptocurrency. Investigators identified multiple laundering networks and confirmed thousands of victims worldwide.
The largest complaint seeks approximately $12.1 million connected to romance scams involving more than 200 victims. Scammers routed the proceeds through hundreds of intermediary wallet addresses and mixed them with other victims’ funds.
Another complaint seeks about $10.4 million after Canadian authorities alerted the Secret Service to a network of cryptocurrency wallets suspected of moving illicit proceeds. Agents traced more than 270 suspected victim transactions involving fraudulent investment platforms. Those two cases represent about 85% of the assets covered by the five forfeiture complaints.
Scammers Used Fake Profits and Recovery Fees
The remaining cases involved blocked withdrawals, fraudulent investment accounts, and scammers who promised to recover previously stolen funds.
One victim invested through an apparently legitimate cryptocurrency platform before the operators cut off contact when the victim requested a withdrawal. Authorities seek approximately $1.2 million from that operation.
Another case involved two victims who transferred millions of dollars to the same fraudulent platform. Agents froze funds across six wallet addresses, and the related complaint seeks nearly $2.4 million.
The smallest complaint seeks approximately $285,000 from a recovery scam targeting someone who had already lost money. The perpetrators claimed they had recovered the stolen funds and demanded an upfront fee.
The FBI recently warned that AI-enabled fraudsters are increasingly targeting previous scam victims through sophisticated recovery schemes, reinforcing the growing threat posed by follow-on cryptocurrency fraud.
Reported Fraud Losses Show the Wider Threat
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) 2025 Internet Crime Complaint Center Annual Report recorded 1,008,597 complaints and $20.88 billion in reported losses, up 26% from 2024. Investment fraud produced about $8.65 billion in losses, while cryptocurrency appeared in 181,565 complaints.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force Disruption Week disrupted more than 1.4 million scam-linked social media and email accounts during May 2026. Participating companies also froze more than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency, while Thai authorities arrested seven suspected scammers.
Overseas Laundering Networks Remain Under Investigation
Investigators located most suspected launderers in Southeast Asia and identified internet protocol addresses connected to China, Malaysia, and Cambodia.
The seizures contribute to more than $800 million recovered through the Scam Center Strike Force, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office launched in November 2025. The initiative previously expanded its crackdown on Southeast Asian scam compounds through coordination with technology companies, cryptocurrency businesses, and international law enforcement agencies.
The Secret Service described the cases as active investigations:
“These five investigations are ongoing and Secret Service investigators continue to work to identify the suspects behind these scamming networks and will work with our law enforcement partners to hold them accountable.”
Singapore’s police have also demonstrated how exchanges can help disrupt fraud, preventing millions in losses through coordinated intervention, illustrating the growing role of international cooperation against crypto-enabled scams.
Potential victims can contact a local Secret Service field office and submit a complaint through the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
