US government targets crypto in Binance fraud case

The U.S. government filed a civil forfeiture action to seize cryptocurrency assets linked to a case of wire fraud and money laundering. The digital assets in question were confiscated from a Binance account last October and are now subject to a legal claim by federal authorities.

The case, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on February 19, involves various cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

The Defendant Property includes 7.23918814 BTC, 105.75351403 ETH, 636.11899592 AVAX, 14120.995091 USDT, 2,380,467,906.17 SHIB, and 319008151.01 PEPE. These funds were seized from a Binance account with User ID XXXXX3280 on or about October 25, 2024, according to court documents.

Special Agent Katrina P. Caulfield from the U.S. Secret Service, in her affidavit, traced the seized cryptocurrencies back to a scam named Trade Propel, which masqueraded as an investment platform. Victims were enticed to invest through a Facebook (NASDAQ:META) group called “Financial Independence Forum,” with promises of high returns from cryptocurrency trading. One victim, referred to as Victim-1, was persuaded to transfer 1.33 BTC to an individual named “Tom Sheldon Haley.”

Further investigation uncovered that the Trade Propel website was a sham, falsely claiming affiliation with reputable financial institutions and had been indicated in numerous fraud reports. The government contends that the seized assets are directly tied to the proceeds of wire fraud and were used in money laundering operations.

The cryptocurrencies were funneled through multiple intermediate wallets before being deposited into the Binance account held by Avwerosuo Omokri, who is associated with a Nigerian passport.

The forfeiture action aims for a court ruling to permanently confiscate the assets and distribute them as per federal regulations. The goal is to dismantle the fraudulent schemes that take advantage of cryptocurrency platforms, as stated in the court filing.

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