The seizures and freezing over three months were conducted by the District of Columbia’s Scam Center Strike Force, established by US Attorney Jeanine Pirro in November.
U.S. authorities have frozen, seized, and forfeited digital assets worth more than $578 million tied to criminal operations in a major crackdown on “Southeast Asian cryptocurrency-related fraud and scams,” the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
The assets were stolen by Chinese transnational criminal organizations that used fraudulent websites and social media platforms to target U.S. residents, according to the DOJ. The actions were carried out by the District of Columbia’s Scam Center Strike Force, a unit created in November by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
“Seizures of cryptocurrency is one important part of the Scam Center Strike Force’s work,” Pirro said in a statement. “Through the legal process, my Office will seek to forfeit these funds and return them to victims to the maximum extent possible.” Her comments indicate that the recovered assets are unlikely to be directed toward the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a digital asset stockpile established by executive order from President Donald Trump in March 2025. While data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET suggests U.S. authorities hold approximately 328,372 BTC from various criminal seizures, the White House has not publicly confirmed the reserve’s current size.
Crypto Scams Surged in 2025
The enforcement action coincides with a dramatic rise in cryptocurrency-related impersonation scams. According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, such incidents increased by roughly 1,400% year-over-year in 2025. Many of these scams involved “pig butchering” schemes and fraudulent investment platforms, with the average amount stolen per impersonation scam rising 600% over the same period.
The scale of the problem has led to significant prison sentences in U.S. courts. Earlier this month, a judge sentenced an individual to 20 years in prison for orchestrating a scheme that stole more than $73 million from victims, many based in the United States.
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