The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that it has frozen more than $701 million in cryptocurrency tied to investment scams targeting American victims. According to reports from TradingView News, the funds were 'restrained' through coordination with crypto exchanges and legal action, as part of efforts led by its Scam Center Strike Force. The agency stated that law enforcement agencies working alongside the unit focused on networks operating scam centers aimed at U.S. victims, with the Scam Center Strike Force continuing its work to identify, seize, and forfeit funds involved in money laundering related to scams, so that funds can be returned to victims whenever possible.
Enforcement actions have dismantled key parts of the scam network infrastructure across Southeast Asia. As reported by TradingView News, authorities confirmed the seizure of a Telegram channel used to recruit individuals into a scam center based in Cambodia, where job seekers were often lured under false pretenses. Investigators also took down at least 503 fake investment websites that previously displayed fabricated dashboards and false returns to convince users to deposit funds. Those domains now show seizure notices informing visitors that law enforcement has taken control.
The operation extends beyond U.S. borders, with similar efforts underway globally. According to TradingView News, the Singapore Police Force disclosed that a one-month operation between March 16 and April 15 prevented more than $2.86 million in potential losses. Working with exchanges such as Coinbase, Gemini, Independent Reserve, and regional platform Coinhako, authorities were able to identify victims early and intervene. Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis supported the effort by tracing suspicious transactions. The operation's success stemmed from the rapid exchange of information between the police and participating cryptocurrency exchanges, which enabled swift victim identification and immediate intervention, with officers conducting over 90 direct interventions.
A significant portion of the restrained assets comes as authorities expand the use of confiscated crypto. As reported by TradingView News, in March last year, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, funded in part through seized digital assets. The agency emphasized that the seized funds will be used to return to victims whenever possible, as part of ongoing efforts to combat cybercrime that reached more than one million complaints in 2025 with total losses reaching about $21 billion.
