Overview
- The Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office returned $710,000 to a Jacksonville victim Thursday after winning a civil-forfeiture default judgment.
- Investigators traced the stolen cryptocurrency into a large consolidation wallet that pooled proceeds from multiple frauds, a move that let them follow the money despite the use of multiple addresses.
- Chief Assistant Statewide Prosecutor John Paul and JSO Detective R.H. Holmes led the tracing and legal work that resulted in the forfeiture and reimbursement.
- Officials said the victim was recruited into a remote 'product reviews' job that required upfront crypto deposits, then was ghosted and told the funds were 'stuck in the blockchain' unless he paid a final fee.
- Attorney General James Uthmeier called the payment the largest crypto reimbursement in Florida history and urged people to watch for red flags such as unsolicited job offers, requests for upfront fees, gift-card purchases, or demands for cryptocurrency.