The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office and FBI executed search warrants across three time zones Wednesday, seizing or disrupting 241 scam domains and more than 100 cloud servers in one of the largest cyber takedowns ever by a local prosecutor.
The operation targeted a Russian-language cryptocurrency investment scam that drained tens of millions of dollars from Russian-speaking victims across the United States. Victims were lured via Russian-language investment ads on Facebook, then contacted by a Russian-speaking “advisor” who walked them through opening accounts on fake crypto platforms and purchasing digital assets.
When victims attempted to withdraw funds weeks or months later, they were locked out or charged bogus “fees” and “taxes.” Some victims lost their life savings. Scammers then posed as recovery services and contacted victims weeks later, promising to retrieve stolen money.
The investigation lasted three years. The servers held scammers’ victim data, site content, and operating software. The infrastructure involved Eastern European and American companies hosting the platforms.
“Our groundbreaking Virtual Currency Unit identified the fraud, tracked the stolen cryptocurrency, broke new ground by uncovering the infrastructure behind the operation, and worked with the FBI to dismantle it,” said Eric Gonzalez, Brooklyn District Attorney.
Gonzalez added: “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. I commend our investigators and thank the FBI for their partnership in this extraordinary operation.”
Prior Takedowns and Recovery
The Virtual Currency Unit, an investigative unit within the Brooklyn DA’s office, has previously taken down 400 scam domains. Prosecutors have recovered $300,000 so far from the current investigation.
