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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a major legal action to seize more than $25 million in cryptocurrency allegedly tied to international fraud operations that targeted victims across the United States and Canada. The move marks another significant step in the government’s widening crackdown on crypto investment schemes, which continue to cost consumers billions of dollars each year.
Federal prosecutors announced that the assets stem from five separate investigations into sophisticated criminal organizations accused of deceiving victims through fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms and online romance scams. Investigators say the schemes persuaded unsuspecting individuals to transfer digital assets into fake investment opportunities before funneling the proceeds through complex overseas money-laundering networks.
The latest forfeiture filing increases the total amount of digital assets recovered through the DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force to more than $800 million, underscoring the growing role of blockchain analytics in disrupting international cybercrime.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, investigators from the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office, working alongside the Cyber Fraud Task Force, traced thousands of suspicious blockchain transactions connected to alleged fraud operations spanning several countries.
Authorities believe the criminal groups behind these crypto investment schemes relied on convincing fake trading platforms that promised lucrative returns while secretly diverting victims’ funds into laundering networks operating overseas.
Rather than focusing on a single criminal organization, the civil forfeiture action combines five independent investigations that shared similar laundering techniques. Prosecutors argue that the cryptocurrency recovered from those operations should be forfeited, allowing eligible victims to potentially reclaim their losses after court proceedings conclude.
One of the largest investigations began after Canadian authorities alerted U.S. law enforcement in late 2024 to suspicious cross-border financial activity. Investigators eventually linked the operation to more than 270 suspected victim transactions, prompting prosecutors to seek the forfeiture of approximately $10.4 million in cryptocurrency.
Another investigation involved an elaborate online romance scam that allegedly manipulated more than 200 victims into transferring money into fraudulent cryptocurrency investments. Prosecutors are now pursuing the recovery of roughly $12.1 million connected to that operation.
Three additional cases involved victims located in the U.S. National Capital Region. One investigation, reported in May 2026, seeks approximately $1.2 million, while another filed after a March 2026 complaint involves about $2.4 million. A fifth investigation targeted a recovery scam in which previous fraud victims were allegedly asked to pay additional fees to retrieve stolen digital assets, resulting in losses totaling nearly $285,000.
Federal investigators say the money laundering infrastructure supporting these crypto investment schemes was primarily based in Southeast Asia, with digital evidence pointing to activity linked to China, Malaysia, and Cambodia.
The Justice Department explained that stolen cryptocurrency was rapidly transferred through numerous blockchain wallets and jurisdictions before eventually reaching laundering networks designed to conceal its origin. This increasingly sophisticated process has made international cooperation essential for identifying suspects and recovering assets.
In announcing the latest enforcement action, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, who launched the Scam Center Strike Force in November 2025, said investigators are disrupting the financial backbone of international cybercriminal organizations.
“This $25 million seizure is a direct result of the Scam Center Strike Force I launched in November 2025, and it demonstrates the power of aggressively targeting these international fraud networks.
Her remarks reflect a broader enforcement strategy that prioritizes dismantling financial networks rather than simply prosecuting individual fraud operators.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has repeatedly warned that cryptocurrency-related investment fraud remains one of the fastest-growing cybercrime categories. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), investment scams involving digital assets continue to generate billions of dollars in reported losses annually, with older adults accounting for a significant share of victims.
The latest forfeiture action follows several recent DOJ initiatives aimed at recovering cryptocurrency tied to cyber-enabled crime.
Earlier in 2026, federal prosecutors in Massachusetts sought to recover 327,829.72 USDT allegedly connected to another online romance scam. Court filings stated that a Massachusetts resident was persuaded through a dating application to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency opportunities before the stolen funds were routed through multiple blockchain wallets and converted into Tether’s USDT stablecoin.
Investigators later tracked those transactions using blockchain analysis before seizing several wallets believed to contain the proceeds.
Civil forfeiture proceedings play a crucial role in these cases because they allow recovered cryptocurrency to be returned to eligible victims after ownership claims are resolved by the courts.
The Justice Department has also broadened its enforcement beyond crypto investment schemes.
In July 2025, prosecutors sought the forfeiture of nearly $2.3 million worth of Bitcoin allegedly linked to the Chaos ransomware group. Investigators said the cryptocurrency was traced to a wallet associated with a suspected ransomware operator before being transferred into government-controlled custody.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has expanded sanctions involving digital assets. In March 2026, Treasury sanctioned two financial networks allegedly connected to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, accusing them of using cryptocurrency transactions to facilitate proceeds from fentanyl trafficking. Officials identified several Ethereum wallet addresses allegedly used to move illicit funds across blockchain networks.
The DOJ’s latest action demonstrates how international cooperation and blockchain intelligence have become increasingly effective tools against modern financial crime.
Rather than relying solely on traditional investigative techniques, authorities are combining forensic blockchain analysis, cross-border intelligence sharing, and civil asset forfeiture to trace illicit cryptocurrency movements that once appeared nearly impossible to follow.
Experts say these coordinated efforts are making it increasingly difficult for organized criminal groups to profit from crypto investment schemes, even when funds pass through dozens of digital wallets and multiple countries before reaching laundering operations.
While the legal proceedings remain ongoing, the recovery of more than $25 million sends a strong signal that law enforcement agencies are becoming more capable of tracing stolen digital assets across blockchain networks. For victims, the forfeiture process offers a pathway toward possible restitution. For fraudsters, it reinforces a growing reality: cryptocurrency transactions may be decentralized, but they are far from invisible.
As governments continue investing in blockchain forensic capabilities and international partnerships, enforcement actions targeting crypto investment schemes are expected to become more frequent, reflecting a broader global effort to safeguard investors and hold cybercriminal organizations accountable.
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