U.S. prosecutors filed five civil-forfeiture complaints on July 21 seeking roughly $26.4 million in cryptocurrency traced through separate international fraud investigations. The Department of Justice can freeze suspected criminal proceeds before identifying suspects, then seek forfeiture while the search continues; final seizure and repayment to victims are decided later.
Five complaints, $26.4 million
One investigation involved more than 270 suspected victim transactions with fraudulent investment platforms. Another covered over 200 romance-scam victims and hundreds of intermediary addresses used to commingle funds. Launderers in these cases were predominantly located in Southeast Asia, with associated IP addresses in China, Malaysia, and Cambodia.
The fifth case involves a repeat victim who lost money to an unrelated fraud, then was contacted by scammers claiming to recover the stolen funds. The victim paid a fee and sent transactions before investigators traced some. The complaint seeks about $285,000.
How civil forfeiture works
Civil judicial forfeiture proceeds against the property and does not require a criminal conviction, but prosecutors must prove its connection to criminal activity by a preponderance of the evidence. Recovering the money does not automatically return it to victims; qualifying victims may later receive forfeited assets through DOJ’s remission or restoration process, which can also send funds to courts for restitution.
Part of a bigger push
DOJ described these five seizures as part of more than $800 million recovered through the Scam Center Strike Force. A program page updated June 18 reported $832.8 million in cryptocurrency restrained; these figures use different terms and dates and are not a before-and-after comparison or victim payout tally.
What’s next for victims
The July 21 announcement gave no distribution amount, eligible claimant list, or timeline for these five cases. Victims will have to wait for the forfeiture process to play out before any money can be returned.
