US Secret Service seizes $225 million in cryptocurrencies, the largest seizure by the agency

Operation confirmed connection to scams that deceive victims into believing they are legitimately investing in cryptocurrencies.

The United States Department of Justice announced on Tuesday (18th) the largest seizure of cryptocurrencies in the history of the American Secret Service, confiscating over $225.3 million in digital assets allegedly linked to global fraud schemes involving crypto investments.

The operation, conducted in partnership with the Secret Service, the FBI, and private sector entities, utilized advanced blockchain analytics to track the funds and confirm their connection to scams known as 'crypto confidence scams' – frauds that deceive victims into believing they are legitimately investing in cryptocurrencies.

'The victims believed they were making real investments, but ended up losing millions,' said Shawn Bradstreet, special agent in charge of the Secret Service Office in San Francisco. 'This historic seizure is the result of intense work to track these illicit transactions, identify the victims, and ensure that the funds can be returned to their rightful owners.'

According to the confiscation process presented to the District Court of Columbia, the funds were distributed across dozens of digital wallets involved in a global network of digital money laundering — responsible for hundreds of thousands of transactions designed to disguise the origin and the parties responsible for the illicit funds.

Authorities have confirmed that hundreds of victims in the US suffered significant losses, with an estimated number of over 400 victims worldwide.

Prosecutor Jeanine Pirro, who is responsible for the case, stated that the government, with the support of President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, is committed to leading an offensive against this type of crime: 'We are working to take this money out of the hands of foreign criminals and return it to American victims.'

According to the FBI, just in 2024, investment scams involving cryptocurrencies generated over $5.8 billion in financial losses in the country.