Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office has dismantled the online backbone of a crypto scam aimed at Russian speakers. The fraud reeled victims in through Facebook ads and fake investment advisors.
Investigators seized and disrupted 241 scam domains and 112 servers with FBI help. The DA’s office puts losses in the tens of millions of dollars, with some victims losing their life savings.
How a Facebook Ad Turned Into a Locked Account
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, the scheme began with Russian-language Facebook ads promising investment opportunities.
Victims who responded got a call from a Russian-speaking “investment advisor.” The caller coached them through opening an account on a crypto platform. The advisor then helped them buy crypto and send it to addresses tied to that platform.
Weeks or months later, victims who tried to withdraw found their accounts locked. Others were told to pay extra fees and taxes before they could touch their money.
“It is estimated that tens of millions of dollars were stolen in the course of the scheme, with some victims losing their entire life savings. The DA’s Office has been able to seize about $300,000 in stolen funds so far and is working to claw back more,” the press release said.
Data from the seized servers showed the same group also ran a recovery scam. A few weeks after the initial theft, the operators contacted victims again, promising to retrieve their stolen crypto.
Why Prosecutors Went After the Servers Behind the Crypto Scam
The unit had already seized or disrupted 400 domains tied to crypto investment fraud. Nonetheless, replacement sites kept appearing fast, so it traced the servers behind them and coordinated a takedown with the FBI.
Last week, investigators executed search warrants across three time zones. Besides the 241 domains, they disrupted more than 100 cloud servers hosted by Eastern European and American firms. The scammers ran on infrastructure in Ukraine and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
Without the servers, the group lost access to victim data, site content, and operational software. The DA’s office said the takedown strips the scammers of their ability to spin up new sites quickly or contact existing victims.
The case adds to a wider US push against cross-border crypto fraud. In July, federal authorities seized $25 million linked to international fraud networks. In September, the US and UK signed a pact targeting scam compounds overseas.
For Brooklyn’s victims, prosecutors said they have seized about $300,000 so far and are still working to recover more.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch leaders and journalists provide expert insights
