FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. – Federal investigators seized $24,000 in a suspected cryptocurrency scam that targeted at least one Metro East resident.
No criminal charges have been filed as of Friday, and no suspect information is available.
According to court records, a woman contacted the O’Fallon Police Department in June 2022 to report she was a victim of fraud in a cryptocurrency scam. One month prior, the victim had communicated with a Twitter account unbeknownst to her, which was impersonating a cryptocurrency influencer.
The fraudster instructed her to deposit more than $32,000 worth of Bitcoin into a “3Twarriorstrading.com” account. By the time the victim realized the website was a scam, she could not retrieve the cryptocurrency.
While the victim lost around $32,000, feds could only recover around $24,000 worth of currency. The money will be returned to the victim through a remission compensation process.
“Unfortunately, new technology has made it easier for individuals abroad to take advantage of
innocent victims throughout the United States,” said Stephen S. Webster with the U.S. Secret Service Springfield Office. “The U.S. Secret Service worked quickly with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Illinois and O’Fallon Police Department to seize this cryptocurrency and prevent it from lining the pockets of criminals overseas.”
The U.S. District Court issued a default judgment on Feb. 15 on a civil forfeiture complaint, which sought the seizure of 14.77997889 Ethereum (ETH) Cryptocurrency from a Binance Account holder based in Nigeria.
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