Overview
- The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed five civil forfeiture complaints on July 21, 2026, seeking more than $25 million in cryptocurrency recovered in separate Secret Service investigations.
- The two largest complaints seek about $12.1 million tied to online romance scams that affected more than 200 people and about $10.4 million tied to fraudulent investment platforms linked to over 270 suspect transactions.
- Investigators say the funds were routed through hundreds of intermediary wallets and laundering networks largely based in Southeast Asia, with IP addresses tied to China, Malaysia, and Cambodia.
- Prosecutors used blockchain analytics and private-sector tracing tools to map transfers and freeze the tokens, and they note civil forfeiture proceeds against property rather than named defendants and does not require a criminal conviction.
- The filings raise the Strike Force’s reported recoveries to more than $800 million, but courts must still rule on forfeiture and any distribution to victims while criminal identification and probe work continue.