Secret Service, FBI uncover massive cryptocurrency scam involving more than 400 victims

WASHINGTON, D.C. (7News) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture complaint in D.C.’s District Court against more than $225.3 million in cryptocurrency.

Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro made the announcement on Wednesday, explaining that the Secret Service and the FBI used “blockchain analysis and other investigative techniques” to find out that the cryptocurrency was connected to the theft and laundering of funds from victims of schemes known as cryptocurrency confidence scams.

Scam operators allegedly distributed proceeds across a large group of cryptocurrency addresses and accounts on the blockchain to conceal the source of the illicitly obtained funds.

There were at least 400 victims involved, who believed they were making real cryptocurrency investments but ended up losing their funds.

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The Secret Service and FBI said they are working to identify all the victims and return the funds to them.

“Under my leadership, with the support of President Trump and Attorney General Bondi, 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,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro.

There was more than $5.8 billion in reported losses due to cryptocurrency investment fraud in 2024, according to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center’s 2024 Internet Crime Report.