United States Files Civil Forfeiture Complaint Against $225M in Funds Involved in Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Money Laundering

“Today’s civil forfeiture complaint is the latest action taken by the Department to protect the American public from fraudsters specializing in cryptocurrency-based scams, and it will not be the last.”

-Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division

“These schemes harm American victims, costing them billions of dollars every year, and undermine faith in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Our investigators and prosecutors are relentlessly pursuing these scammers and their ill-gotten gains, and we will relentlessly pursue recovery of victim funds.”

-Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division

“...The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is taking a leading role in the fight against crypto-confidence scams, partnering with law enforcement throughout the country to seize and forfeit stolen funds and rip them from the hands of foreign criminals, all with the eye toward making victims whole.”

-U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia

“This seizure of $225.3 million in funds linked to cryptocurrency investment scams marks the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.S. Secret Service (USSS) history.”

-Special Agent in Charge Shawn Bradstreet of the USSS San Francisco Field Office

Pictured: Cryptocurrency Fraud Trends shown at the press event.