Press Release: 8/3/2026

United States Attorney’s Office Files Civil Forfeiture Action to Recover Crypto Involved in Online Fraud Scheme

 

Friday, July 31, 2026

 

For Immediate Release

 

Scammers directed victims to deposit funds in Cryptocurrency ATMs

BOSTON – The United States Attorney’s Office has filed a civil forfeiture action to recover 47,461.73111 USDT (Tether), alleged to be proceeds of an online fraud scheme in which scammers directed victims to deposit funds into cryptocurrency ATMs and then took the funds. The cryptocurrency currently has an estimated value of approximately $47,000.

As alleged in the complaint, the home computer of a Ware Mass. resident became unresponsive, and a pop-up window directed her to call a customer support telephone number. The victim spoke with an individual who claimed to be a customer service representative but in reality, was a scammer. The scammer told the victim that their bank account had been compromised and to “protect” their money, the victim needed to transfer their money to the government for safekeeping. At the direction of the scammers, the victim withdrew funds from their bank account and deposited them into a Bitcoin Depot brand cryptocurrency ATM at a gas station in Ludlow, Mass. From there, the victim’s money was transferred to the fraud perpetrators.

Law enforcement traced some funds to a cryptocurrency wallet and seized those funds in March 2026. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement identified four other victims of a similar scam whose funds could be traced to the same cryptocurrency wallet.  

It is a violation of federal law to use wire communications as part of a scheme to defraud or to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses. It is also a violation of federal law to conduct a financial transaction knowing that the transaction is designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of criminal proceeds. A civil forfeiture action allows third parties to assert claims to property, which must be resolved before the property can be forfeited to the United States and returned to victims.

This is one of several civil forfeiture actions the U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed seeking to forfeit cryptocurrency traced to fraud schemes targeting Massachusetts victims.

Members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime – including cryptocurrency scams, tech support scams, investment scams and business email compromise fraud scams – should contact  USAMA.CyberTip@usdoj.gov.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Field Office made the announcement today. The Ludlow Police Department provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carole E. Head, Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit is prosecuting the civil forfeiture action.

The details contained in the civil forfeiture complaint are allegations. 

 

Updated July 31, 2026