Cryptocurrency Scammer, $1M Crypto Fraud, Massachusetts 2024

BOSTON – In a brazen move, a Massachusetts resident allegedly made off with over $1 million in cryptocurrency from unsuspecting victims, authorities revealed today.

According to a civil forfeiture complaint filed by the United States Attorney’s Office, the scammer, who has not been named, used a Facebook Group called the ‘Financial Independence Forum’ to lure in victims with promises of easy profits.

‘The scammer established a level of trust with the victim in online communications and then enticed the victim into investing in a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme,’ the complaint alleges.

The scammer allegedly convinced the victim to create an account and transfer funds to a new trading platform that law enforcement believes was fraudulent.

During the investigation, three additional victims were identified from across the United States who sent funds to the same allegedly fraudulent trading platform.

‘It’s a violation of federal law to use wire communications as part of a scheme to defraud or to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses,’ said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley.

A civil forfeiture action allows third parties to assert claims to property, which must be resolved before the property can be forfeited to the United States and returned to victims.

The United States Attorney’s Office has filed several civil forfeiture actions seeking to forfeit cryptocurrency traced to fraud schemes targeting Massachusetts victims.

Members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime, including cryptocurrency scams, romance scams, investment scams, and business email compromise fraud scams, should contact USAMA.CyberTip@usdoj.gov.

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