The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office filed five civil forfeiture complaints on July 21, 2026. The complaints seek the forfeiture of more than $25 million in cryptocurrency stolen from thousands of fraud victims in the United States and Canada.
Each complaint is linked to a separate investigation conducted by the Secret Service’s Cyber Fraud Task Force. The $25 million is part of more than $800 million recovered by the task force.
The Center’s Fraud Strike Force was initiated by US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro in November of 2025 to stop cryptocurrency investment fraud linked to Chinese transnational criminal gangs.
“This $25 million seizure is a direct result of the Fraud Center strike force I launched in November 2025, and demonstrates the aggressive targeting power of these international fraud networks,” Pirro said in a statement. statement.
Five crypto cases with thousands of victims
Two of the biggest complaints make up most of the refunds. In one complaint, a private sector partner reported suspicious transactions to the Internet Fraud Task Force. After investigation, it was found that more than 200 people had been defrauded in online romance schemes. The complaint seeks approximately $12.09 million.
In the second complaint, Canadian authorities informed Secret Service agents in late 2024 of a number of wallet addresses. Investigators froze wallet addresses and traced more than 270 suspected transactions to victims linked to fake investment platforms. This case seeks approximately $10.4 million.
The other three complaints make up the rest of the $25 million. The people transporting the money were found to be in Southeast Asia in all five cases.
Part of a broader and growing campaign
The scams are carried out through a scheme called “pig slaughter.” It involves a scammer who builds trust with a target over a period of time, asks them to buy real cryptocurrency, and then moves the funds to fake trading platforms.
The Justice Department previously said much of the operations take place in guarded compounds in Burma, Cambodia and Laos, where victims running the scams are often trafficked by workers. advertisements.
The latest submission only continues an enforcement trend that spiked in 2026. Strikeforce has done just that It confiscated a total of $580 million by Februarywith that number rising to more than $700 million by April.
Prosecutors have since charged two Chinese nationals who ran an apartment complex in Burma. This came on the heels of the Treasury Department Cambodian senator punishedCook Ann, also in April.
The extent of the fraud is already significant, with US officials estimating that fraud in Southeast Asia consumes up to $10 billion annually from Americans. The FBI also reported that Americans lost nearly $21 billion to cybercrime and online fraud in 2025.
Prosecutors aim to pursue the forfeiture in court and return recovered funds where possible.
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