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US seeks forfeiture of $25M in crypto tied to romance scams
The DOJ filed five civil forfeiture complaints seeking $25M+ in crypto linked to romance and investment scams that hit thousands of victims across the US and Canada.
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US prosecutors are seeking more than $25 million in cryptocurrency tied to international fraud networks, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
The US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Secret Service filed five civil forfeiture complaints. The largest seeks $12.1 million linked to romance schemes that defrauded more than 200 victims, the DOJ said. Another $10.4 million was traced to more than 270 suspected victim transactions. Three smaller cases involved fake investment accounts and a secondary scam that offered to recover stolen funds.
The DOJ said the launderers were based mostly in Southeast Asia. IP addresses tied to the activity were in China and Malaysia, with some also linked to Cambodia.