DOJ seizes $112M tied to cryptocurrency schemes

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a March 3 announcement that it has seized $112 million worth of digital assets tied to crypto investment scams.

Specifically, the agency seized six crypto accounts across three states in the District of Arizona, the Central District of California, and the District of Idaho.

Those cryptocurrency accounts were allegedly used to launder funds from scams. The perpetrators gradually earned the trust of their victims through social networks, dating websites, phone calls, and so on. Ultimately, the perpetrators convinced their targets to invest in cryptocurrency platforms and funneled the funds to their own addresses.

The DOJ said that this type of scam is called “Sha Zhu Pan,” a Chinese phrase that means “pig butchering.” Most of the victims were between the ages of 30 and 49.

The agency added that crypto fraud including pig butchering schemes increased 183% between 2021 and 2022, amounting to $2.57 billion of stolen funds. This accounted for most fraud reported to the FBI’s online crime center, which amounted to $3.31 billion in total.