US Seeks Forfeiture of Millions in Crypto Tied to Chinese Impersonation Fraud Scheme – BlockTribune
US Seeks Forfeiture of Millions in Crypto Tied to Chinese Impersonation Fraud Scheme
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On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, the United States filed a verified complaint for forfeiture in rem in the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan, seeking to forfeit cryptocurrency linked to a sophisticated fraud scheme that preyed on Chinese-speaking individuals across the country. The scheme, which impersonated Chinese authorities, defrauded at least five victims out of millions of dollars.
The complaint targets specific digital assets, including 729,279.70 USDT from a virtual currency address ending in qqDTH, 3,647.65 USDT from an address ending in 52YM5, and 125,733.5482 USDT from an address ending in eWa4B. Additionally, over 7 million Cardano (ADA) tokens from a Binance User ID ending in 9131 are also subject to forfeiture. These funds were allegedly used to launder proceeds from the fraudulent operation.
Perpetrators in the scheme posed as representatives from well-known retailers like Sam’s Club or Costco. Victims were then transferred to individuals posing as Chinese police officers, who falsely accused them of involvement in money laundering investigations. One victim, X.Z., was defrauded of over $2,000,000, while S.C. lost $738,000, M.W. approximately $550,000, and K.L. $285,000. Another individual, S.L., was exploited as a money mule to launder funds through cryptocurrency exchanges.
The investigation revealed a complex money laundering process where victims’ money was converted into cryptocurrency. These digital assets were then moved through multiple exchanges, including Kraken, Coinbase, OKX, Binance, and Bybit, and transferred through various virtual currency addresses to obscure their origins.
Key evidence connecting the fraudsters to the scheme includes the use of Apple accounts with names such as ‘[email protected]’ and ‘[email protected].’ IP address analysis further indicated that these same addresses were used to access both the fraudulent email accounts and the Binance account ending in 9131.
The cryptocurrency was seized on December 17, 2025, and April 29, 2026, and is currently held by the United States Marshals Service.
Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.
