The US Government to Return $7 Million in Seized Funds to Victims of Fake Crypto Investment Website

On March 24th, as reported by Cointelegraph, the U.S. government is aiming to return $7 million to the victims of social engineering fraud. These victims were tricked into sending money to a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia, this fraud case began with fraudsters contacting victims and winning their trust. Then, they directed the victims to a website that was disguised as a legitimate cryptocurrency investment platform. Once the victims made a deposit, the funds were transferred through more than 75 bank accounts held by shell companies and then moved abroad in a "deceptive manner." Although the funds appeared as domestic transfers, they were actually sent to banks outside the U.S. When the victims tried to withdraw, the perpetrators forced them to make additional transfers by claiming that they needed to pay taxes on the assumed earnings. In 2023, the U.S. Secret Service seized a part of the funds from a foreign bank and initiated civil forfeiture proceedings by filing a lawsuit in a U.S. district court. However, this bank also made a claim to the funds. Eventually, the U.S. government reached an agreement to return $7 million of the seized funds to the victims.