Today, the U.S. Department of Justice seized six virtual currency accounts containing over $112 million in funds stolen in cryptocurrency investment schemes. Judges in the Central District of California, the District of Arizona, and the District of Idaho authorized today’s action. The DOJ says the next step is to return the stolen cryptocurrency to the victims. The criminals behind these cryptocurrency fraud scams (also known as pig butchering or cryptocurrency confidence scams) approach their victims via various dating platforms, messaging apps, or social media platforms, build trust, and introduce them to investment schemes which eventually allow them to empty the targets’ crypto wallets. They do this by funneling all the funds victims provide to cryptocurrency accounts under the fraudsters’ control instead of investing them as promised. “These particularly vicious frauds – where scammers carefully cultivate relationships with their victims over time – have devastated families and cost individuals their life savings,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of DOJ’s Criminal Division. “Now that we have seized this virtual currency, we will seek to swiftly return it to victims.”
Full story : US seizes $112 million from cryptocurrency investment scammers.
