US Seizes $25 Million in Crypto Linked to Transnational Fraud Ring

Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have moved to seize over $25 million in cryptocurrency tied to organized international investment and romance scams that defrauded hundreds of victims across North America.

According to court filings submitted by the U.S. Department of Justice alongside the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office, five separate civil forfeiture actions were initiated following extensive blockchain tracing operations. Federal agents tracked illicit proceeds across hundreds of intermediary wallet addresses, where funds from distinct fraud schemes were systematically blended to conceal their origins.

The largest individual action targets approximately $12.1 million connected to online romance scams, which affected more than 200 individuals. Another major action seeks roughly $10.4 million flagged in coordination with Canadian law enforcement after examining more than 270 suspicious transactions. Three additional forfeiture claims range from $285,000 to $2.4 million. In one instance, fraudulent actors operated a secondary scheme where they posed as asset recovery specialists, promising to assist individuals in retrieving funds previously stolen in earlier scams.

Investigative efforts linked the digital infrastructure used to funnel the stolen crypto to money laundering entities operating in Southeast Asia. Technical analysis identified IP addresses centered in China, Malaysia, and Cambodia. Such operations frequently rely on forced-labor facilities in regional border zones across Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, an operational model that Interpol has identified as an escalating global security concern.

The enforcement actions reflect ongoing operations by the Scam Center Strike Force, an initiative established in late 2025 by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. The strike force has now recovered or restrained more than $800 million in illicit crypto assets connected to transnational cybercrime networks.