The scheme allegedly stole tens of millions through Russian-language Facebook ads and fake advisers, then went after victims again with fake recovery offers.
- Brooklyn prosecutors and the FBI seized or disrupted 241 scam websites and 112 servers tied to a crypto fraud that targeted Russian speakers in the US.
- The scheme allegedly stole tens of millions through Russian-language Facebook ads and fake advisers, then went after victims again with fake recovery offers.
- Officials have seized about $300,000 so far. Crypto scams made up roughly 84% of the investment-fraud losses reported to the FBI in 2025.
Brooklyn prosecutors and the FBI have seized or disrupted 241 websites and 112 servers tied to a crypto investment scam that allegedly stole tens of millions of dollars from Russian-speaking victims in the U.S.
The operation, carried out last week, came after a three-year investigation into a fraud network that relied on online infrastructure and IP addresses in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. No arrests were announced.
The scammers drew victims through Russian-language Facebook ads that promised investment opportunities. Fake advisers then called the victims and coached them to buy cryptocurrency and send it to fraudulent trading platforms.
When victims tried to withdraw their funds, the platforms locked their accounts or demanded more payments for supposed taxes and fees.
The scammers then “tried to exploit them again with false promises to recover their money,” Gonzalez said. Recovered data showed they contacted victims a few weeks after the initial fraud, offering to retrieve the stolen funds.
The DA’s Virtual Currency Unit had previously seized or disrupted 400 domains tied to crypto investment fraud, but replacement sites kept appearing.
This time, investigators targeted the servers, hosted by Eastern European and U.S. companies, that held victim data and the software used to run the fraud. The goal was to stop the operators from quickly launching new sites.
The case comes as crypto investment scams accounted for roughly 84% of the $8.65 billion in investment-fraud losses reported to the FBI in 2025, according to the bureau’s annual report.
Across all internet-crime categories, crypto-linked losses totaled $11.37 billion, approximately 54% of the $20.88 billion overall. Both percentages are calculated from the FBI’s totals.
Brooklyn authorities have seized about $300,000 and are working to recover more. Prosecutors said some victims lost their entire life savings.
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Beyond the Risk-Free Rate: Diversified Real World Yield in Productive Stablecoins
Beyond the Risk-Free Rate: Diversified Real World Yield in Productive Stablecoins
Diversified RWA stablecoins sustain 5-7% yield from real credit as crypto funding compresses to ~4%. GENIUS pushes yield off-chain; TAM grows to $4B in 3 years.
Why it matters:
Diversified RWA stablecoins sustain 5-7% yield from real credit as crypto funding compresses to ~4%. GENIUS pushes yield off-chain; TAM grows to $4B in 3 years.
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