CLEVELAND, Ohio - CLEVELAND - An elderly man from Bristolville, Trumbull County, and his sister were swindled out of more than $1 million in a sophisticated cryptocurrency investment scam, federal authorities announced Wednesday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio has filed a civil complaint to seize assets in an effort to return the stolen funds.

The fraud began in late 2024 when the Bristolville victim, whose identity has not been released, received a text message from an unknown number.

The sender, posing as a successful investor, eventually persuaded the victim to move their conversations to the messaging platform Telegram, using the username "Shaw Goddess." Over time, the scammer gained the victim's trust and convinced him to invest in cryptocurrencies.

The victim opened accounts with virtual currency exchanges Crypto.com and Strike.com, wiring over $1 million of his own savings.

The scammer then directed him to transfer these funds to a fake investment platform. The victim also convinced his sister to invest more than $600,000 in the same fraudulent scheme.

 

  U.S. Attorney

 The elaborate ruse began to unravel when both the man and his sister attempted to withdraw their supposed earnings. The fake platform denied their requests, with the sister being told she needed to pay a 10% tax upfront to access her funds.

The victim, with a basic understanding of taxes, grew suspicious of this demand, leading him to realize he had been the target of a massive fraud.

Federal investigators, using "blockchain analysis," successfully traced approximately $200,000 of the stolen funds to a cryptocurrency address.

These funds were later converted to Tether (USDT), and a federal seizure warrant was issued. The U.S. government is now seeking to forfeit the 325,060 USDT tokens, valued at approximately $325,060, with the goal of returning the money to the victims.

The FBI Cleveland Division is actively investigating this and other related cryptocurrency schemes. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio is leading the prosecution.

This case serves as a stark warning about the dangers of unsolicited investment advice and the importance of verifying financial opportunities, especially those involving digital currencies.