๐จ $1.5M CRYPTO SEIZED โ FLORIDA TURNS THE TABLES ๐จ
Florida prosecutors just seized ~$1.5 million in crypto after tracing funds from a local investment scam straight to a wallet allegedly controlled by a Chinese national ๐จ๐ณโก๏ธ๐บ๐ธ
๐ผ What happened?
๐ A Citrus County resident reported losing $47,421 in July 2024 to an online โinvestmentโ scam
๐งต Investigators followed the on-chain trail
๐ฐ Instead of stopping at the victimโs loss, prosecutors targeted the entire wallet balance
๐ฆ Seized assets included:
โก AVAX (Avalanche)
๐ถ DOGE (Dogecoin)
๐ธ PEPE
โ๏ธ SOL (Solana)
โ๏ธ Charges filed:
โ Money laundering
โ Grand theft
โ Organized scheme to defraud
๐ซ Suspect status:
Tu Weizhi is believed to be in China.
โก๏ธ If he enters the U.S., he will be arrested.
๐ง Why this case matters
Florida used the fugitive disentitlement doctrine โ meaning:
๐ You canโt hide abroad and still ask U.S. courts to protect your crypto
๐ As experts note, public blockchains make tracing easier, not harder. With the right tools, crypto transparency becomes law enforcementโs advantage.
๐ The bigger picture
๐ 2024 fraud losses: $12B+
๐ Investment scams: ~$5.7B
๐ป Crypto investment fraud alone: ~$9.3B
๐ฅ Message is clear:
Crypto isnโt lawless.
Scammers can run โ but their wallets canโt.
