Key takeaways:
- The FBI seized digital assets worth about $1.7 million between March and May.
- The FBI seized $147,000 worth of Bitcoin, $800,000 worth of Ether, $307,000 worth of Tether, 469,000 worth of Dai, and $20,000 worth of Monero.
According to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report made public, the organization seized digital assets worth about $1.7 million between March and May.
The filing states that the FBI took $147,000 worth of Bitcoin, $800,000 worth of Ether, $307,000 worth of Tether, 469,000 worth of Dai, and $20,000 worth of Monero. The assets were seized from a number of places, including wallets associated with the Binance exchange.
The agency’s largest-ever seizure was made in the Eastern District of Virginia, when 428.5 ETH in total were taken. One of the seizures of Ether was valued at about $463,000.
The FBI also stated in the petition that there were several violations of federal laws that led to the asset seizures. The FBI reported:
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) gives notice that the property listed below was seized for federal forfeiture for violation of federal law.”
Along with cryptocurrency, the FBI also reported the recovery of numerous other things, such as cash from bank accounts, sports automobiles, designer bags, clothing, and footwear.
The FBI has warned the crypto community about con artists impersonating real people in the nonfungible token (NFT) market for some time.
On August 6, the FBI issued a warning about account hijackers who prey on victims by instilling a “sense of urgency” and directing them to phony websites where their assets are stolen. According to the FBI, thieves and fraudsters hack official social media accounts or set up new profiles that look legitimate.
Earlier this year, the FBI issued a warning about fraudulent crypto employment postings, phishing schemes, and social media takeovers.
On May 23, the organization warned Americans to be on the lookout for fake job postings associated with human trafficking, where victims are coerced into committing crypto investment fraud.
