Brooklyn prosecutors are dismantling the infrastructure of a major cryptocurrency investment scam that targeted Russian speakers across the United States.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Virtual Currency Unit says it seized and disrupted 241 web domains and 112 servers in one of the largest local cyber enforcement actions.
“The operation seized and disrupted not only 241 scam cryptocurrency investment domains but, more significantly, a large cluster of over 100 cloud-based servers hosted by Eastern European and American companies, depriving the scammers of access to the data that populates the domains, victim information, and their operational software.”
The scam ran for more than three years and relied on Russian-language Facebook ads plus Russian-speaking advisors to lure victims into fake investment platforms.
Victims transferred cryptocurrency to the sites and were later told they had to shell out funds to cover additional fees and taxes before they could make a withdrawal. The scammers also ran a crypto recovery scheme, duping victims into believing their digital assets were stolen and promising that the coins would be recovered.
Tens of millions of dollars were lost, with some victims losing life savings. About $300,000 has been recovered so far, and the district attorney’s office is working to claw back more.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez emphasizes the operation’s impact on victims.
“When scammers halfway around the world target Brooklyn residents, they should know they are not beyond our reach. These criminals stole many millions of dollars from Russian-speaking victims through an elaborate investment scheme, then tried to exploit them again with false promises to recover their money.”
The office had previously seized or disrupted more than 400 related domains tied to cryptocurrency investment fraud.
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