13 hours ago
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Authorities in Florida and Massachusetts have successfully recovered $5.4 million in cryptocurrency from scammers. James Uthmeier, Florida Attorney General, said his office called the successful recovery a historic and monumental operation against crypto scams.
The fraud cases involved a romance-turned crypto investment scam affecting victims in Florida and Massachusetts. According to the attorney general’s office, victims were identified in six Florida counties. One Marion County victim lost more than $450,000.
The recovery was led by the Office of Statewide Prosecution’s Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit, or CFEU, working with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Crypto scammers often target senior citizens
Cyber fraud often targets Florida seniors. Uthmeier said his office made it a priority to recover as much money as possible and return it to victims. He said the partnership with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office was record-breaking and said the unit is setting the standard for cryptocurrency recovery.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said it angers him that people prey on citizens, especially senior citizens. He said that cyber scammers and hackers belong in jail. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office helped the attorney general’s office complete the largest recovery, totaling $6.5 million.
The office said $700,000 of the recovered cryptocurrency was returned to Florida victims, and $1.3 million was returned to victims in Massachusetts. The remaining recovered funds would be used to continue powering the Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit’s fight against crypto scams.
In the first quarter of 2026 alone, CFEU recovered $3.3 million, which the office said represented 45% of its all-time recoveries. Since the unit was created 2.5 years ago, it has recovered $7.2 million in total. The office added that another $12.6 million in frozen crypto assets is still moving through litigation.
In Massachusetts, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said her office has received hundreds of crypto-related complaints. She wrote, “I see the effects of these scams on a near-daily basis. My office receives hundreds of complaints related to cryptocurrency.”
Campbell said her office has deactivated more than 60 scam websites, filed more than 30 lawsuits, and recovered more than $6 million for victims. She added that she’s working with other officials to educate people about crypto scams and to help them catch red flags early.
She also cited an enforcement action earlier this year against Bitcoin Depot. The crypto kiosk operator allegedly knew millions in fraudulent transactions were funneled through its machines and should have done more to protect consumers.
Ironically, Bitcoin Depot was described as the victim of a cyberattack that affected its wallet addresses. The company lost 50.9 bitcoins worth about $3.6 million, according to an 8k report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Bitcoin Depot stated that the unauthorized access was discovered on March 23, but blockchain investigator ZachXBT said the theft had started three days earlier on March 20. Bitcoin Depot was late in discovering the breach.
ZachXBT added that the theft may have totaled 54 bitcoins, or about $3.9 million, and spanned across 19 suspicious wallet addresses. “I traced it out and the suspicious outflows actually occurred on March 20 and the funds were transferred to Kucoin deposit addresses,” said the crypto sleuth in an X post.
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