U.S. Seizes $1.5M in Crypto Linked to Wire Fraud and Money Laundering
1min read The U.S. government has taken action against cryptocurrencies linked to a wire fraud and money laundering case, targeting assets held on the Binance platform. In a civil forfeiture action filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, federal authorities are seeking to permanently confiscate a range of digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
The seized cryptocurrencies, valued at approximately $1.5 million, were taken from a Binance account last October and are now the subject of a legal claim. The assets include 7.23918814 BTC, 105.75351403 ETH, 636.11899592 AVAX, 14120.995091 USDT, 2,380,467,906.17 SHIB, and 319008151.01 PEPE.
The investigation, led by Special Agent Katrina P. Caulfield from the U.S. Secret Service, traced the seized cryptocurrencies back to a scam called Trade Propel. This platform posed as an investment platform, luring victims into investing through a Facebook group called "Financial Independence Forum" with promises of high returns from cryptocurrency trading. One victim, referred to as Victim-1, was persuaded to transfer 1.33 BTC to an individual named "Tom Sheldon Haley."
Further investigation revealed that the Trade Propel website was a sham, falsely claiming affiliation with reputable financial institutions and had been indicated in numerous fraud reports. The government contends that the seized assets are directly tied to the proceeds of wire fraud and were used in money laundering operations. The cryptocurrencies were funneled through multiple intermediate wallets before being deposited into the Binance account held by Avwerosuo Omokri, who is associated with a Nigerian passport.
The forfeiture action aims for a court ruling to permanently confiscate the assets and distribute them as per federal regulations. The goal is to dismantle the fraudulent schemes that take advantage of cryptocurrency platforms, as stated in the court filing.
