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The U.S. Department of Justice has recorded a sharp rise in cryptocurrency-related fraud and a record economic loss.
Digital assets are increasingly being used in large-scale schemes, including healthcare scams and investment projects.
Authorities and lawmakers are ramping up pressure on the market, preparing new laws and control measures.
The U.S. Department of Justice published a report for 2025, naming several major cases of fraud involving cryptocurrencies. The agency notes that digital assets are increasingly used in classic criminal schemes, and the fight against such crimes has noticeably intensified.
Source: X.com
Last year was a record year for the prosecution. Charges were brought against 265 individuals, and the total damage exceeded $16 billion. This is more than twice as much as the previous year. Many cases were accompanied by the seizure of cryptocurrency along with cash and other assets.
Cryptocurrency in large fraudulent schemes
The report emphasizes that cryptocurrency is increasingly involved in large-scale fraud. One high-profile case is linked to healthcare fraud amounting to around $1 billion. According to investigators, the accused carried out medically unnecessary procedures on elderly and seriously ill patients, leading to illegal Medicare payments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. During the investigation, authorities seized assets, including cryptocurrency.
The report separately mentions the sentence of former Wolf Capital head Travis Ford. He was sentenced to five years in prison for crypto investment fraud amounting to $9.4 million. About 2,800 investors were affected, to whom stable daily returns were promised.
The increasing pressure from law enforcement comes against the backdrop of new initiatives from lawmakers. A bipartisan bill, the SAFE Crypto Act, has been proposed in Congress, which aims to create a federal working group to coordinate the fight against crypto fraud.
At the same time, state authorities are also calling for stricter regulations. In New York, it was stated that unlicensed crypto operations fuel the shadow economy by tens of billions of dollars.
Experts note that the main problem is the speed of crimes. According to TRM Labs, AI-related fraud has increased by about 500%. Criminal groups no longer operate chaotically but use established schemes that allow them to steal and launder funds in a matter of hours. In the coming years, such technologies are expected to pose the main challenge for law enforcement, according to analysts.
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