U.S. prosecutors are seizing over $25 million in cryptocurrency through five civil forfeiture complaints targeting international romance and investment scams. The action, part of the Scam Center Strike Force initiative which has recovered over $800 million since 2025, targets fraud networks based in Southeast Asia. While the assets are frozen, the legal process for forfeiture and eventual restitution to victims remains unresolved.
Civil forfeiture complaints
- ▪The seizures are part of the Scam Center Strike Force, an initiative launched in November 2025 by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro
- ▪On July 21, 2026, U.S. prosecutors filed five civil forfeiture complaints seeking over $25 million in cryptocurrency
- ▪Another complaint seeks about $10.4 million linked to fraudulent investment platforms involving over 270 suspected victim transactions
- ▪The Scam Center Strike Force has recovered over $800 million in total from various fraud schemes
- ▪A separate complaint seeks to forfeit about $285,000 from a "recovery scam" that targeted a previous fraud victim
- ▪The largest complaint seeks approximately $12.1 million tied to online romance scams that affected over 200 people
- ▪The complaints were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
International fraud investigations
- ▪The fraud schemes targeted victims across the United States and Canada
- ▪The launderers were predominantly based in Southeast Asia, with associated IP addresses traced to China, Malaysia, and Cambodia
- ▪Interpol has identified the scam economy in Southeast Asia as a global threat
- ▪Much of this type of fraud is operated from forced-labor compounds in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos
- ▪The U.S. Secret Service's Washington Field Office conducted the investigations, tracing illicit proceeds through hundreds of intermediary wallets
Asset restraint process
- ▪To win a civil forfeiture case, prosecutors must prove the property's link to criminal activity by a preponderance of the evidence
- ▪A civil forfeiture complaint asks a court to transfer ownership of the seized property to the government
- ▪Civil forfeiture allows U.S. authorities to freeze and seize assets suspected of being criminal proceeds before suspects are identified
- ▪A criminal conviction of an individual is not required for civil judicial forfeiture
Victim restitution uncertainty
- ▪Courts must still grant the forfeiture and determine how much, if any, of the cryptocurrency eventually reaches victims
- ▪The July 21, 2026, legal filings did not provide a timetable for victim restitution
- ▪The seizure of funds does not automatically mean the money will be returned to victims
- ▪Qualifying victims may receive funds through the Department of Justice's remission or restoration process
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