Key facts
- US prosecutors are seeking to forfeit over $25 million in cryptocurrency.
- The funds are linked to international romance, investment, and recovery scams.
- Five civil forfeiture complaints have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
- The largest complaint seeks $12.1 million tied to online romance schemes affecting over 200 victims.
- Another complaint seeks $10.4 million linked to fraudulent investment platforms involving over 270 suspected transactions.
- Laundering networks were primarily based in Southeast Asia, with IP addresses in China, Malaysia, and Cambodia.
Federal prosecutors are seeking to forfeit more than $25 million in cryptocurrency assets allegedly linked to a series of international investment, romance, and recovery scams. The Department of Justice 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.