How Brooklyn prosecutors and the FBI took down a massive crypto fraud network targeting Russian speakers
Brooklyn prosecutors and the FBI have dismantled a sophisticated crypto fraud network that targeted Russian speakers through deceptive social media advertisements. By seizing servers and infrastructure rather than just domains, authorities aim to disrupt the group's ability to launch new fraudulent platforms.
Why it matters
This operation highlights the growing scale of crypto-linked investment fraud, which accounted for a significant portion of the $20.88 billion in total internet-crime losses reported in 2025.
The operation, carried out last week, came after a three-year investigation into a fraud network that relied on online infrastructure and IP addresses in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said . No arrests were announced.
The scammers drew victims through Russian-language Facebook ads that promised investment opportunities. Fake advisers then called the victims and coached them to buy cryptocurrency and send it to fraudulent trading platforms.
When victims tried to withdraw their funds, the platforms locked their accounts or demanded more payments for supposed taxes and fees.
The scammers then “tried to exploit them again with false promises to recover their money,” Gonzalez said. Recovered data showed they contacted victims a few weeks after the initial fraud, offering to retrieve the stolen funds.
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