In a rare move, the U.S. Justice Department is attempting to recover over $225 million that victims lost in “pig butchering” cryptocurrency investment scams. On Wednesday, the government filed a legal complaint to seize the funds, which are currently being held in seven different virtual currency addresses. The goal is to return the money to at least 430 known victims.
The case came to light after the cryptocurrency exchange OKX identified a large network of accounts that appeared to be laundering stolen funds and notified law enforcement.
Federal agents then interviewed about 60 victims, who had collectively lost around $19 million. One victim in Arizona was scammed after receiving a message on LinkedIn. At the same time, another lost $485,000 after being convinced to download a fake trading app from the Apple Store.
These scams, often referred to as “pig butchering,” typically begin with a friendly message from a stranger who establishes a relationship with the victim. The scammer then manipulates them into investing in a fake crypto scheme, only to steal all their money. The problem is massive; the FBI estimates that Americans lost a staggering $9.3 billion to this type of fraud in 2024 alone, with older adults being the hardest hit.
While $225 million is just a drop in the bucket, this action demonstrates that U.S. authorities are making some progress in combating the issue. If a court approves the seizure, the Justice Department has not yet said how it will return the money. However, they are urging anyone who thinks they were a victim of these scams to file a report on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) website using the special code “BT06182025.”
