Brooklyn prosecutors seize 112 servers tied to crypto scam aimed at Russian speakers
Brooklyn prosecutors said they dismantled key online infrastructure used in a multinational crypto investment scam that targeted Russian speakers in the United States, seizing or disrupting 241 web domains and 112 servers. The enforcement action was announced Wednesday by District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, whose office said the operation was carried out with the FBI across three time zones. According to the release, the servers were hosted by companies in Eastern Europe and the U.S., while the scammers used infrastructure and IP addresses in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. Prosecutors said many victims in Brooklyn responded to Russian-language Facebook ads promoting investment opportunities, then received calls from supposed "investment advisors" who guided them to open accounts on crypto investment websites. Victims were instructed to buy cryptocurrency and send it to wallet addresses linked to the platforms. When they later tried to withdraw funds, they were either locked out or told to pay extra fees and taxes. Investigators also said data from seized servers showed the group ran a follow-on recovery scam, contacting victims weeks later with false promises to recover stolen funds. The Brooklyn DA's office estimates the scheme stole tens of millions of dollars and said about $300,000 has been seized so far.
