Ohio Man Deceived into Transferring Life Savings in Cryptocurrency Scam

CLEVELAND - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio (USAO) has filed a civil complaint in forfeiture against 947,883 Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency, valued at approximately $947,883. USDT is a virtual currency which are digital tokens of value circulated over the internet. Its transactions are publicly recorded on what is known as a blockchain.

According to court documents, the cryptocurrency fraud scam began in or around October 2023, when an Elyria, Ohio, man was contacted via a pop-up window on this computer with instructions to call a number to resolve a tech issue. The victim was then told that his retirement account had been compromised and that his funds were being wired to accounts in China or Russia and a casino in Las Vegas. He was provided with a purported solution and told that the transactions could be stopped by wiring money. Thinking that he was protecting his retirement account, the victim gave remote computer access to the scammer who then proceeded to withdraw money and move funds into various cryptocurrency accounts. In total, the victim lost his entire life savings of $425,000 as a result of this cryptocurrency fraud scam.

Investigators conducted a blockchain analysis and determined that the stolen funds were converted to USDT cryptocurrency and placed into a virtual currency wallet. Law enforcement officers executed a federal seizure warrant to recover 947,883 USDT tokens, on July 31, 2024, and then transferred these funds to a law-enforcement-controlled virtual currency wallet.

By the Complaint in Forfeiture filed on Nov. 26, 2024, the United States seeks to forfeit the 947,883 USDT cryptocurrency. If successful, the United States would seek to provide compensation to the victim. In the complaint, the United States alleges that the additional cryptocurrency contained in the address is subject to forfeiture as the proceeds of fraud.

The claims asserted in the complaint are allegations only, and the United States must prove these allegations by a preponderance of the evidence at trial.

The FBI Cleveland Division is actively investigating cryptocurrency fraud schemes perpetrated on victims throughout the United States, including in the Northern District of Ohio. The United States is represented in this matter by Assistant United States Attorney James L. Morford. The USAO would like to acknowledge Tether for its assistance in this matter.

If you observe something that you believe might be fraudulent conduct involving an older adult, contact the dedicated National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 1-833-372-8311 and visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center at IC3.gov to report it.