this Ministry of Justice The largest U.S. seizure ever announced Wednesday Cryptocurrency With the so-calledPig slaughter“The scam that makes victims billions of dollars globally.
Federal prosecutors filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit against more than $225 million in cryptocurrency, dating back to a vast network of fraudulent investment platforms. Victims were tricked into believing they were investing in legal cryptocurrencies, but were simply scammed by criminal networks that often operate overseas.
“This $225.3 million funding related to cryptocurrency investment scam This is the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the history of the Secret Service.
Authorities said the network is linked to at least 400 suspected victims worldwide, including dozens of fraudulent acts of cryptocurrency fraud in the United States, causing more than $5.8 billion in losses last year.
Now, the seized funds will be subject to a forfeiture lawsuit, with the intention of ultimately returning the money to the victim.
The Secret Service and the FBI use blockchain analytics and other tools to trace cryptocurrencies back to stolen assets. The Justice Department attributes the world’s largest Stablecoin issuer Tether to assist in the operation.
According to the complaint, the funds are linked to the theft and money laundering of victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes, often referred to as self-confidence scams, often involving romance.
The network relies on hundreds of thousands of transactions to mask the origin of funds and uses complex blockchain manipulation to mask the flow of stolen assets.
