New York officials have successfully disrupted a cryptocurrency investment scam targeting Russian-speaking residents, resulting in the recovery of $140,000 and the freezing of an additional $300,000 in stolen crypto assets. The scheme used fake digital asset investment advertisements primarily on Facebook and other social media platforms, misleading victims to fraudulent investment sites that falsely claimed to be licensed by New York's BitLicense regulatory framework.
The operation involved over 300 identified victims and caused losses exceeding $1 million in the Brooklyn area alone. Authorities from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, New York State Attorney General, and Department of Financial Services coordinated actions against the scammers, who used deceptive ads in Russian to lure investors into WhatsApp and Telegram chats where they were convinced to deposit cryptocurrency with promises of steady returns.
Upon attempts to withdraw funds, victims were asked for fake fees and taxes before scammers cut off contact and absconded with the money. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, shut down over 700 accounts associated with these "Black Hat" advertisements after the investigation began in October 2023.
Separately, the investigation noted the use of Tether (USDT) stablecoin in a related large-scale money laundering case involving over $530 million moved into the U.S. by a Russian national under indictment for various fraud and sanctions violations. Authorities emphasize continuous vigilance against crypto scams, especially those leveraging social media to target vulnerable communities.