Brooklyn DA Shuts Down Multi-Million Dollar Crypto Scam Operation

The investigation by the office’s Virtual Currency Unit (VCU) and the FBI culminated in the seizure of 241 web domains and 112 servers, which revealed the millions of dollars lost by the Russian community in Brooklyn, New York, and throughout the U.S., District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a Wednesday (Oct. 14) news release.

“These criminals stole many millions of dollars from Russian-speaking victims through an elaborate investment scheme, then tried to exploit them again with false promises to recover their money,” Gonzalez said. “By disrupting more than 100 servers and hundreds of fraudulent websites, we have struck at the heart of this criminal enterprise and made it far harder for these scammers to victimize others.”

According to the release, the VCU has for the last three years been investigating a crypto scam targeting the Russian-speaking community in the U.S. Brooklyn is home to an extensive Russian population, meaning the scam disproportionately affected Brooklyn residents.

The release said the investigation identified a large portion of victims who told the same story: they responded to a Facebook ad in Russian for investment opportunities and got a call from an “investment advisor” who helped them create an account with a crypto investment platform.