U.S. seizes over $25 million in crypto tied to scam cases

U.S. prosecutors said they have seized more than $25 million in cryptocurrency tied to fraud schemes, a reminder that digital assets can move fast but still leave a trail investigators can follow. For everyday crypto users, the case shows how fake investment sites and online relationship scams can funnel victim funds through many wallets before authorities try to recover them.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced Tuesday that it filed five civil forfeiture complaints in Washington, D.C., with support from the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office. A civil forfeiture complaint is a legal filing that asks a court to let the government take control of property it alleges is connected to crime.

According to the Justice Department, the complaints came from separate investigations into crypto investment fraud and romance scams. Prosecutors said the schemes affected thousands of people across the United States and Canada.

Investigators said they traced proceeds through hundreds of intermediary crypto wallet addresses. A wallet address is the public destination used to send or receive digital assets. Prosecutors said those wallets mixed funds from multiple victims, a common tactic that can make stolen crypto harder to separate and return.

How the alleged scams worked

The Justice Department said the seized assets were connected to fraudulent crypto investment platforms and online romance schemes. In these cases, scammers often build trust with victims before directing them to send crypto to a platform or wallet they control. The government did not name specific platforms in the announcement cited by prosecutors.

Crypto can be attractive to fraudsters because transactions can cross borders quickly and do not require the same banking rails as traditional wire transfers. The flip side is that many blockchains record transactions publicly, which can help investigators map where funds moved after a victim sends them.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said its Cyber Fraud Task Force conducted multiple investigations that led to the seizures. The office also posted on X that the action was carried out with the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office.

Part of a broader recovery push

The Justice Department said the latest seizure adds to more than $800 million recovered by the Scam Center Strike Force, which launched in late 2025. The office described the new cases as part of a wider effort to pursue fraud operations that use cryptocurrency.

For victims, a seizure does not automatically mean money is immediately returned. Civil forfeiture cases move through court, and the government must establish its claim to the assets before any restitution process can follow.

The announcement did not say how many people may receive recovered funds, how much individual victims lost, or whether any defendants have been charged in connection with the five complaints. Prosecutors framed the action as a recovery step tied to ongoing investigations into international crypto scams.

This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.