Federal prosecutors have filed five civil forfeiture complaints targeting more than $25 million in cryptocurrency they say flowed from international romance and investment scams that hit victims across the United States and Canada. The complaints landed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and all stem from separate Secret Service investigations.
Agents tracked the money through hundreds of wallet addresses and frozen crypto accounts connected to over 270 suspected investment scam transactions and more than 200 romance scam victims, including several in the Washington area. The two biggest cases alone account for most of the sum: roughly $12.1 million tied to online romance schemes and $10.4 million linked to fake investment platforms. Three smaller complaints cover about $1.23 million, $2.39 million, and $285,000.
The details in some of the individual cases are telling. In one, scammers simply vanished after a victim tried to pull money out of what looked like a legitimate crypto investment account. In another, fraudsters went back to someone who had already been swindled and pitched a "recovery service," promising to retrieve the lost funds for an upfront fee. That second scheme, known as a recovery scam, is a growing tactic where prior fraud victims become targets precisely because they are desperate to get their money back.
All five cases fall under the Scam Center Strike Force, a dedicated federal task force that launched in November 2025. The U.S. Attorney's Office says the task force has now clawed back more than $800 million in total since it began operating, with this latest batch of complaints adding to that running tally.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice.
