A retired person living in Florence, Alabama, USA, lost over 222 thousand dollars in savings in a cryptocurrency-related fraud. The scammers impersonated a young woman and directed the victim to have the money transferred to fake crypto wallets, according to federal court documents filed this week.
Federal seizure process begins
The U.S. government filed a civil lawsuit seeking permanent forfeiture of the seized assets. As part of the investigation, authorities tracked the money through multiple wallets and platforms. The funds were then intercepted with a federal search and seizure warrant.
In the prosecutor’s documents, it was stated that the victim first transferred money from his bank account to his Coinbase account, and then this amount was moved to crypto wallets controlled by the fraudsters. Authorities recorded that USDT worth over 222 thousand dollars was seized by law enforcement after being circulated between different wallets and platforms.
Federal prosecutors are requesting that the seized assets be considered proceeds of wire fraud and that a federal judge order the permanent forfeiture of those funds.
How the scam progressed
In the court file, the incident was described as a fraud method based on establishing long-term trust relationships. According to the file, the person who introduced herself as a 23-year-old woman and used the name “Bella” offered help in investing in cryptocurrency after communicating with the victim. The correspondence was later moved to the encrypted messaging application Telegram and the communication took on a romantic dimension.
Mini dictionary: Confiscation is the process of seizing the proceeds of crime or assets considered to be used in crime by the state by court decision. Telegram, on the other hand, is a messaging application that offers end-to-end encryption options.
In the documents, it was stated that the fraudster gave the victim step-by-step instructions on how to move the money from the bank account. This method is based on gaining the victim’s trust over weeks or months and then directing them to fake investment platforms. No suspects have yet been identified in the Florence case.
2024 data pointed out the extent of the threat
On-chain security company Cyvers reported in data published in February 2025 that such frauds caused investors to lose $5.5 billion in 2024. The company announced that the number of cases detected only on the Ethereum network was 200 thousand. According to Chainalysis data, this method accounted for 33.2% of crypto fraud revenues by subclass during the same period. Inflows into these schemes also increased by approximately 210% on an annual basis.
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| 2024 total losses | $5.5 billion |
| Detected case on Ethereum | 200 thousand |
| Share of crypto fraud revenues | 33.2% |
| Annual money inflow increase | Approximately 210% |
Michael Pearl, vice president of GMT strategy at Cyvers, called this method by far the biggest threat to crypto investors. Pearl emphasized that even direct attacks, in which $2.3 billion in assets were stolen in 165 incidents in 2024, remain behind this figure.
Special Agent Stacey Moy of the FBI San Diego Field Office said the speed at which bad actors are using these sophisticated fraud schemes to deceive innocent people is extremely egregious.
Victims experienced high loss of wealth
According to Cyvers data, 75% of victims lost more than half of their net worth. The trust-building process took 1 to 2 weeks in 35% of cases. In some files, this period was observed to extend up to three months. Company data revealed that the most frequently targeted group was men between the ages of 30 and 49.
It is not yet known whether the money seized in the Florence case will be returned to the victim. Prosecutors note that it is common practice in such fraud investigations, where the perpetrators may be located abroad, to file the case directly against the crypto asset itself.
