DOJ DC 25M Crypto Fraud Forfeiture July 2026
Summary
On July 21, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia filed five civil forfeiture complaints in U.S. District Court seeking over $25 million in USDT cryptocurrency traced to international investment fraud, romance fraud, and asset-recovery fraud schemes. The complaints, docketed as Nos. 26-cv-2539 through 26-cv-2543, name no individual defendants and proceed as in rem actions against the assets themselves, all of which had been voluntarily frozen by Tether at law enforcement request. The action is part of the Scam Center Strike Force, launched in November 2025 by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, which had restrained approximately $832.8 million in cryptocurrency from related schemes as of the date of filing.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigationsTimeline(12 events)
2023-01-01
Multi-platform laundering network (BitaGold, SteemFly, Smart Labs, Bdswg.com) begins documented activity; network eventually processes over $78 million in alleged fraud proceeds through January 2026.
Armstrong & Bradylyons legal analysis of complaint 26-cv-25422024-11-01
Tether freezes MicMarkets-linked addresses at U.S. Secret Service request, approximately 20 months before the civil complaint is filed.
Armstrong & Bradylyons legal analysis2024-11-01
Ontario Provincial Police refers the multi-platform laundering network investigation to USAO-DC.
Armstrong & Bradylyons legal analysis of complaint 26-cv-25422025-01-01
Tether freezes 16 addresses linked to the $78 million multi-platform laundering network.
Armstrong & Bradylyons legal analysis of complaint 26-cv-25422025-01-01
UK National Crime Agency refers the Apex Financial / recovery fraud investigation to USAO-DC.
Armstrong & Bradylyons legal analysis of complaint 26-cv-25412025-07-01
Tether freezes Zoomex spoof-linked addresses within one day of a U.S. Secret Service request.
Armstrong & Bradylyons legal analysis of complaint 26-cv-25392025-10-01
Cryptocurrency transfers totaling approximately 3.2 million USDT linked to the Apex Financial / NCA recovery fraud begin flowing to the addresses targeted in complaint 26-cv-2541.
Armstrong & Bradylyons legal analysis2025-11-01
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro launches the Scam Center Strike Force, targeting Southeast Asian cryptocurrency fraud linked to Chinese transnational criminal organizations.
DOJ USAO-DC Scam Center Strike Force page2026-02-26
Scam Center Strike Force announces seizure milestone of over $580 million in cryptocurrency from Chinese transnational criminal organizations, reached within three months of launch.
IRS Criminal Investigation announcement2026-05-27
Tether freezes six addresses linked to the investment platform withdrawal-blocking scheme (complaint 26-cv-2543), less than two months before the civil complaint is filed.
Armstrong & Bradylyons legal analysis of complaint 26-cv-25432026-07-21
U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia files five civil forfeiture complaints (26-cv-2539 through 26-cv-2543) in U.S. District Court for DC, collectively targeting over $26.4 million in USDT.
DOJ USAO-DC Press Release2026-07-22
Multiple crypto and financial news outlets report on the five complaints; Scam Center Strike Force total cryptocurrency seizures reported at approximately $832.8 million since November 2025 launch.
CoinDesk reportingDecision Log
- #1publish⛓ pending7/31/2026, 11:29:42 PMhash: 59ALQJBQjPkQDWL1kgj2ZRaQL5By41HmjgoYmFZbh9x9
12 of 12 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 7/31/2026, 11:29:37 PM
last updated: 8/1/2026, 3:22:35 AM
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