The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to forfeit more than $25 million in cryptocurrency recovered through five investigations into international fraud networks that allegedly targeted victims in the United States and Canada with fake crypto investment schemes.

Authorities said the cases involved fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms and online romance scams. Prosecutors said the latest action raises the amount of assets seized through the Scam Center Strike Force to more than $800 million.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, investigators from the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, working through the Cyber Fraud Task Force, traced several money-laundering networks connected to thousands of suspected victims worldwide. Those victims were allegedly induced to send funds to platforms they believed were legitimate cryptocurrency investment services.

The forfeiture action covers five separate investigations. Prosecutors said each case involved a different alleged fraud operation, but the schemes shared common laundering patterns that moved stolen cryptocurrency through overseas networks. The recovered assets will now go through civil forfeiture proceedings, a legal process directed at the property itself rather than a criminal conviction, and one that could allow eligible victims to seek compensation if the court resolves ownership claims in their favor.

The largest investigation began after Canadian authorities notified U.S. investigators in late 2024 about suspicious activity tied to cross-border fraud. The Justice Department said investigators identified more than 270 suspected victim transactions connected to that scheme and are seeking forfeiture of approximately $10.4 million in cryptocurrency.

A second investigation, focused on online romance scams, represented the largest share of the latest recovery by value. Prosecutors said the operation affected more than 200 victims who were allegedly persuaded to transfer funds into fraudulent cryptocurrency investments. Authorities are seeking approximately $12.1 million connected to that scheme.

Three other complaints involve investigations reported by victims in the U.S. National Capital Region. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, one case reported in May 2026 seeks roughly $1.2 million, while another reported in March 2026 seeks approximately $2.4 million. A fifth investigation concerns an alleged fee-based recovery scam, in which victims were asked to pay additional charges to recover previously stolen cryptocurrency. Prosecutors are seeking nearly $285,000 in that case.

Investigators said the laundering operations behind all five cases were largely based in Southeast Asia. The Justice Department said IP addresses linked to the schemes were primarily located in China, Malaysia, and Cambodia, showing how international fraud groups move stolen digital assets across multiple jurisdictions before victims or authorities can trace them. The cross-border structure also explains why these cases often rely on coordination among federal investigators, foreign authorities, and blockchain-tracing specialists before assets can be moved into government-controlled custody.

Fraud investigations expand asset recovery efforts

Federal prosecutors said the latest forfeiture action adds to more than $800 million recovered through the Scam Center Strike Force, an initiative launched in November 2025 by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro to disrupt international cryptocurrency fraud networks.

In a Justice Department statement, Pirro said the seizure reflected the results of pursuing international laundering operations rather than focusing only on the underlying fraud. She said investigators dismantled complex laundering networks, protected victims, and disrupted criminal financial channels used to move illicit proceeds.

The forfeiture effort is part of a broader series of Justice Department actions targeting cryptocurrency linked to online scams and other cyber-enabled crimes. For victims, asset seizure is only one step: prosecutors still must establish the government’s forfeiture claims in court, and potential remission or restitution depends on later legal determinations and victim-claim processes.

Earlier in 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to recover 327,829.72 USDT allegedly connected to an online romance scam. According to March 2026 court filings, a Massachusetts resident was persuaded through a dating application to transfer money into fake cryptocurrency investments. Prosecutors said the stolen funds were then routed through multiple blockchain wallets and converted into Tether’s USDT stablecoin.

Federal investigators later seized several wallets tied to that case after blockchain analysis traced the movement of the funds. Prosecutors said civil forfeiture proceedings can allow recovered digital assets to be returned to eligible victims once court proceedings resolve ownership claims.

Asset recovery actions have also extended beyond investment fraud. In July 2025, the Justice Department filed a separate civil forfeiture complaint seeking nearly $2.3 million worth of Bitcoin allegedly linked to the Chaos ransomware group. Federal prosecutors said the cryptocurrency was traced to a wallet associated with a suspected member of the ransomware-as-a-service operation. The funds were seized after FBI investigators gained access to the wallet and transferred the cryptocurrency into government-controlled custody.

Authorities have increasingly used blockchain analysis in these investigations. Court filings across multiple cases have described investigators tracking cryptocurrency through successive wallet transfers before identifying addresses allegedly connected to laundering operations or fraud networks. Public blockchains can preserve transaction trails, but investigators still need to connect wallet activity to specific people, platforms, or laundering services before courts can act on the funds.

Other U.S. agencies have also expanded digital-asset enforcement. In March 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned two networks allegedly linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, accusing them of using cryptocurrency transactions to move proceeds from fentanyl trafficking. Treasury identified multiple Ethereum wallet addresses connected to the sanctions and alleged that cartel associates converted cash into cryptocurrency before transferring illicit funds across blockchain networks.