The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has successfully recovered approximately $1.7 million in virtual currency from scammers and returned the funds to two victims who fell prey to an elaborate investment scam. The recovery announced Friday represents the latest victory in the federal government’s efforts to combat the surging wave of cryptocurrency fraud plaguing American consumers.
Federal authorities seized 420,740 USDT (Tether) and 1,249,996 BUSD (Binance USD) from three cryptocurrency wallets, totaling approximately $1.7 million.
The U.S. Secret Service conducted this seizure before the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture complaint in federal court to clear ownership of the funds.
According to court documents, the perpetrators contacted one of the victims via text message and the other on social media, creating seemingly random messages to weaken the victim’s defenses.
Eastern District of Virginia moves to give refunds to trust system victims
After the victim responded initially, the scammer built trust by maintaining communication with the victim. They then convinced the victim to move the conversation to an encrypted chat application.
Once the relationship was established, the scammers introduced cryptocurrency investment opportunities through what appeared to be legitimate trading platforms.
According to information “While the website imitated a legitimate cryptocurrency investment platform, the spoofed site funneled victims’ funds to the fraudsters,” the documents shared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said.
The site also presented false information to victims, leading them to believe that they were making large profits.
But when victims tried to make withdrawals, they faced new demands. The scammers used other tactics to coerce victims into sending more money, such as notifying them that they were paying taxes and fees to earn their profits.
In the end, “the perpetrators never allowed the victims to withdraw more than a trivial amount, and they stole the victims’ money.”
After the theft, the perpetrators laundered the proceeds through complex cryptocurrency transactions, converting one digital currency to another in an attempt to hide the traces of the funds.
Despite these efforts, Secret Service agents tracked down the funds and carried out the seizure.
Cryptocurrency victims hold out hope for recovery
Virginia’s recovery represents one of several recent successes by the Eastern District in the fight against virtual currency fraud.
The office was restored in August. $1.9 million For victims caught up in a similar scheme, in March 7 million dollars Recovery including bank accounts of over 75 shell companies. There are many recalls occurring across the United States and around the world.
The Justice Department conducted its largest-ever forfeiture in October, with approx. $15 billion in virtual currency Cryptopolitan reports that this is related to Prince Group’s Cambodia-based operations.
In early June, authorities seized $225 million related to a hog slaughter scam believed to have affected more than 400 victims around the world.
According to federal estimates, Americans lose billions of dollars each year to crypto investment fraud. of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) As of January of this year, it had reportedly notified more than 4,300 victims nationwide, saving an estimated $285 million.
Shockingly, 76% of those contacted were unaware they were being scammed. federal data.
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