Key facts
- US prosecutors are seeking to forfeit over $25 million in cryptocurrency.
- The crypto is allegedly linked to international investment, romance, and recovery scams.
- Thousands of victims globally were targeted by these fraudulent schemes.
- The largest forfeiture complaint targets $12.1 million from romance scams affecting over 200 victims.
- Laundering networks involved in the schemes were primarily based in Southeast Asia.
US prosecutors are pursuing the forfeiture of more than $25 million in cryptocurrency assets allegedly linked to a series of international investment, romance, and recovery scams. The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed five civil forfeiture complaints detailing how victims in Canada and the United States were defrauded.
These actions stem from investigations by the Cyber Fraud Task Force, which identified multiple money laundering networks. Thousands of victims worldwide were reportedly deceived into believing they were engaging in legitimate digital asset investments. The schemes often employed social engineering tactics, fraudulent trading platforms, and complex wallet transfers to obscure the movement of stolen funds.
The largest complaint targets approximately $12.1 million connected to romance scams that affected over 200 individuals. Proceeds from these scams were allegedly routed through intermediary addresses and mixed with other victim funds. Another complaint seeks $10.4 million traced from more than 270 suspected victim transactions. Three smaller cases involve fake investment accounts and a secondary scam designed to recover previously stolen funds.
Investigators indicated that the individuals responsible for laundering the funds were primarily located in Southeast Asia, with related internet protocol (IP) addresses identified in China, Malaysia, and Cambodia. This development follows a broader international effort, including an Interpol-coordinated operation named First Light 2026, which involved 97 countries and led to thousands of arrests and the seizure of substantial illicit assets. During that operation, Thai authorities uncovered a network that converted scam proceeds into crypto and used cross-chain token swaps to conceal the trail, with one suspected money launderer processing over $122.5 million in crypto in just 10 months.
US authorities have previously targeted crypto assets associated with similar fraudulent activities. In February, agents seized over $61 million in USDT stablecoin from addresses believed to be used for laundering proceeds from fake investment platforms. The modus operandi typically involves scammers building romantic relationships to gain trust before directing victims to fraudulent trading platforms and then moving the funds through multiple wallets.