2022-03-18
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is successfully recovering more than $500,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) that fraudsters stole from an elderly resident of Asheville, North Carolina.
According to the civil complaint filed in August, the scammers, who are believed to be operating from overseas, claimed that they were with the Office of the Inspector General.
The fraudsters called the victim by phone and told him that his personal information was used in criminal activities. He was then advised that he had to deposit funds into a purportedly secure government account while authorities conduct an investigation.
As a result, the victim used his retirement fund to buy Bitcoin through the crypto exchange Coinbase and transferred 12.164699 BTC worth $574,766 to the imposters’ account.
Coinbase and the FBI flagged the transaction as a potential elder financial fraud which led to the successful recovery of the coins. U.S. Attorney Dena J. King says that stolen crypto assets will be returned to the victim following the forfeiture.
“Government imposter scams are pervasive and can be financially and psychologically devastating for those who fall prey. Thankfully, in this instance, the fraud was detected quickly and the stolen funds will be returned to the victim.
Unfortunately, the majority of these cases do not share a similar ending.”