DOJ to seize $225.3 million for victims of crypto scammers
The Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint against more than $225.3 million in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia related to cryptocurrency scammers involved in investment fraud and money laundering. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
June 19 (UPI) -- The Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize $225.3 million for victims involved in cryptocurrency scams.
The complaint, filed Wednesday, alleges that the cryptocurrency addresses that held over $225.3 million were part of a sophisticated blockchain-based money laundering network.
"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," said 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."
Last week, the DOJ found five men guilty who laundered over $36 million from victims. They operated out of Cambodia and face maximum penalties of between five and 20 years in prison.
Assistant Director of the FBI Criminal Division Jose A. Perez, said his agency will not allow the criminals targeting unsuspecting victims who believe they are making legitimate investments to keep these scams going.
"This seizure of $225.3 million in funds linked to cryptocurrency investment scams marks the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.S. Secret Service history, said Shawn Bradstreet, a special agent in that agency's San Francisco field office.
In this investigation, more than 400 suspected victims say they lost money after believing that they were making investments, officials said.
According to the FBI internet Crime Complaint Center's 2024 internet Crime Report, cryptocurrency investment fraud resulted in more than $5.8 billion lost in 2024. People over age 60 were impacted the most, losing an estimated $2.8 billion.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
35 minutes ago
- New York Post
Federal judge will order Mahmoud Khalil released from immigration detention
A federal judge says he'll order Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil released from immigration detention. Judge Michael Farbiarz made the ruling from the bench in federal court in New Jersey on Friday. Lawyers for the Columbia graduate had asked a federal judge to immediately release him on bail from a Louisiana jail, or else transfer him to New Jersey, where he can be closer to his wife and newborn son. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Advertisement Khalil was the first arrest under President Donald Trump's crackdown on students who joined campus protests against Israel's devastating war in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Khalil must be expelled from the country because his continued presence could harm American foreign policy. The same judge had ruled earlier that the government can continue to detain the legal U.S. resident based on allegations that he lied on his green card application. Khalil disputes the accusations that he wasn't forthcoming on the application. The judge previously determined that Khalil couldn't continue being held based on the U.S. secretary of state's determination that he could harm American foreign policy. Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, was detained on March 8 at his apartment building in Manhattan over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. His lawyers say the Trump administration is simply trying to crack down on free speech. Advertisement Khalil isn't accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia. The international affairs graduate student served as a negotiator and spokesperson for student activists. He wasn't among the demonstrators arrested, but his prominence in news coverage and willingness to speak publicly made him a target of critics. The Trump administration has argued that noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the country as it considers their views antisemitic. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Los Angeles Times
39 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate 2020 election, reviving long-standing grievance
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden, repeating his baseless claim that the contest was marred by widespread fraud. 'Biden was grossly incompetent, and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD!' Trump said in a social media post in which he also sought to favorably contrast his immigration enforcement approach with that of the former president. 'The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING. A Special Prosecutor must be appointed. This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America! Let the work begin!' Trump's post, made as his Republican White House is consumed by a hugely substantial foreign policy decision on whether to get directly involved in the Israel-Iran war, is part of an amped-up effort by him to undermine the legitimacy of Biden's presidency. Earlier this month, Trump directed his administration to investigate Biden's actions as president, alleging aides masked his predecessor's 'cognitive decline.' Biden has dismissed the investigation as 'a mere distraction.' The post also revives a long-running grievance by Trump that the election was stolen even though courts around the country and a Trump attorney general from his first term found no evidence of fraud that could have affected the outcome. The Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity arm pronounced the election 'the most secure in American history.' It was unclear what Trump had in mind when he called for a special prosecutor, but in the event Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi heeds his call, she may face pressure to appoint someone who has already been confirmed by the Senate. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment Friday. The Justice Department in recent years has appointed a succession of special counsels — sometimes, though not always, plucked from outside the agency — to lead investigations into politically sensitive matters, including into conduct by Biden and by Trump. Last year, Trump's personal lawyers launched an aggressive, and successful, challenge to the appointment of Jack Smith, the special counsel assigned to investigate his efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election and his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. A Trump-appointed judge agreed, ruling that then-Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland had exceeded his bounds by appointing a prosecutor without Senate approval and confirmation, and dismissed the case. That legal team included Todd Blanche, who is now deputy attorney general, as well as Emil Bove, who is Blanche's top deputy but was recently nominated to serve as a judge on a federal appeals court. Tucker writes for the Associated Press.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Nude Iowa woman arrested after stealing American flags, burning them: Police
A southern Iowa woman is facing charges after authorities say she took her clothes off, stole American flags and set them on fire this month. Brianna Laird, 21, is facing charges after a caller said she burned stolen American flags on June 16, per court documents obtained by USA TODAY. While burning American flags is protected under the First Amendment, Laird was charged with third-degree arson, assault on an officer, indecent exposure, interference with official acts, fifth-degree criminal mischief, possession of drug paraphernalia and fifth-degree theft, per online court records. A lawyer for Laird did not immediately respond to requests for comment on June 20. Court documents: Woman hit and kicked officer while resisting arrest On June 16, someone called dispatchers about a woman in Bussey, Iowa, about 60 miles southeast of Des Moines. The caller said a nude woman was 'lighting American flags on fire,' according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY. When Marion County deputies arrived, they allegedly found Laird, who had an American Flag tied around her head and was not wearing pants or underwear. Authorities said Laird had taken the flags, which belong to the city of Bussey, and damaged them. She gave police a fake name and when deputies tried to arrest her, she hit one of them in the face, the documents said. Deputies eventually got her into the back seat of a patrol vehicle, but before one deputy could shut the door, she kicked them. When she arrived at the jail, authorities searched Laird's bag and found drug paraphernalia inside, the court documents say. Is it legal to burn the American flag? Past cases involving flag burning Flag desecration and burning have long been a point of discussion among U.S. lawmakers. The issue has been hotly contested in past cases, such as a June 1966 incident in which a Brooklyn veteran burned an American flag on a street corner after he learned that civil rights activist James Meredith was shot, according to the Freedom Forum. When the veteran was arrested for violating a New York flag desecration law, he said, 'Yes, that is my flag; I burned it. If they let that happen to Meredith, we don't need an American flag.' The New York Court of Appeals argued that flag burning was an attempt to incite violence, posing a danger to public peace. While the Supreme Court did not rule on the flag desecration law he was accused of breaking, it did rule that he could not be punished for "verbally disrespecting the flag," per the Freedom Forum. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case because lawmakers could not come to an agreement about whether he was convicted for burning the flag or the words he said at the time. While there are some state flag desecration laws, if enforced, they are likely to be overruled. What can people be charged with in relation to American flags? According to the Freedom Forum, freedom of speech applies to more than spoken words. That means expressions such as burning the flag, books, newspaper articles, online posts, theater and dance and even video games are considered "symbolic speech." There are some instances in which citizens could be charged for desecrating the flag even if the act of burning the flag itself is protected, the Freedom Forum said. Those who burn the flag in places with high fire risks could face charges for the act of burning something, the Freedom Forum said. And like the most recent case out of Iowa, stealing someone else's flag to burn could also be criminal, the organization said. "Burning the flag to deliberately provoke a violent response from someone else or in order to incite others to imminent lawless violence is not protected either," the Freedom Forum said. Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
