$7 Million Refund Coming for Victims of Fake Crypto Site Scam

According to a March 21 statement, the fraud involved carefully planned communication, where scammers reached out to individuals and gained their confidence. Once trust was built, they were directed to websites that looked like real crypto investment platforms but were actually set up to take their money.

The funds were moved across more than 75 different accounts tied to fake companies instead of being invested. The money was then transferred outside the US while disguised to appear as regular domestic transactions.

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When people tried to get their money back, they were met with new demands. They were told they had to pay additional fees, such as taxes, in order to withdraw their supposed profits.

In response, the US Secret Service stepped in and was able to recover some of the stolen funds in June 2023. A civil forfeiture case was filed in a US court to claim those funds, but the foreign bank holding the money also filed a claim. After legal talks, both sides agreed to a settlement that allowed $7 million of the seized money to be returned to the scam victims.

People who lost money in this case are asked to reach out to the Secret Service and file a petition if they want to recover what they can.

On March 13, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ordered Debiex, a crypto trading platform, to pay approximately $2.5 million. What happened? Read the full story.