Crypto romance scam: US charges six men – around 800 victims

The US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia has charged six men accused of running a large-scale romance and cryptocurrency scam. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the charges on 27 October. According to prosecutors, the defendants posed as attractive women on dating sites and social apps, built trust and persuaded victims to connect their crypto wallets to fake investment websites – supposedly for NFT deals. The wallets were then allegedly drained without the victims' knowledge. The defendants are presumed innocent.

Investigators say the case involves around 800 victims in the US and about 74 crypto wallets; wallets linked to victims were identified in Maryland, Oregon, Nevada and Minnesota, among other states. Authorities did not give a total loss figure. The group allegedly operated first from Cambodia and later from scam compounds in Madagascar, with the money moved to accounts tied to China-based actors. Prosecutors say the scammers used real people as 'models' to make short videos and voice notes that made the fake personas look credible. The US has asked Madagascar to extradite the six men; it is not known whether they have been arrested.

Prosecutors also want to interview 15 alleged employees of the group who say they themselves were trafficked and abused; they are believed to be held in a jail in Madagascar. Pirro called the problem a 'global epidemic', stressing that such cases devastate victims financially and that many also feel ashamed. Her advice: 'Never connect your cryptocurrency wallet to a website recommended by someone that you met online.' A US Justice Department strike force against scam centres says it has already restrained more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency and seized more than 700 fraudulent investment websites.