The U.S. Department of Justice freezes over $25 million in cryptocurrency assets, involving multiple investment fraud cases

PANews July 22, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, together with the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, announced that investigations into multiple international cyber fraud cases have resulted in the seizure of more than $25 million in cryptocurrency. The seized funds are believed to originate from crypto investment scams targeting residents of the United States and Canada.

The operation is part of the U.S. “Scam Center Strike Force,” launched in 2025 by District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. To date, the total amount of assets recovered has exceeded $800 million.

The U.S. authorities stated that on July 21, 2026, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia filed five civil forfeiture complaints in the U.S. District Court, seeking forfeiture of more than $25 million in crypto assets recovered across different fraud investigations. Investigators said these cases involve multiple money-laundering networks, with victims located around the world. The criminal groups lure victims to invest through fake crypto investment platforms, online romance scams, and other means, and hide the source of funds through transfers across multiple wallet addresses and mixing operations. The seized funds relate to five major investigations:

In one case, Canadian law enforcement provided the U.S. Secret Service with wallet addresses allegedly used to transfer illicit proceeds. Investigators froze the related addresses, and tracking identified more than 270 suspected victim transactions, with an involved amount of approximately $10.4 million;

The second case involves an online romance scam, with more than 200 victims deceived. Illicit funds were transferred through hundreds of intermediary wallet addresses and mixed with other victims’ funds, involving an amount of approximately $12.08 million;

The third case involves a victim in the U.S. capital region who participated in a fake crypto investment project. After a withdrawal failed and the scammers went missing, the related funds were approximately $1.23 million;

In the fourth case, a victim transferred millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency to a fake investment account. Investigators tracked some funds to 6 wallet addresses and froze approximately $2.39 million;

In the fifth case, the scammers impersonated a “fund recovery” institution and lured victims into paying fees. The involved amount was approximately $285k.

The U.S. Secret Service said these cases are still under investigation, and law enforcement personnel are tracing the criminal suspects behind the scam networks. They will also work with international law enforcement agencies to pursue accountability.