Brooklyn prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced last week that they had disrupted a cryptocurrency scam network operating out of Eastern Europe and targeting Russian‑speaking Americans. The coordinated effort shut down 241 websites and seized 112 servers located in both Eastern Europe and the United States, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. No arrests were reported.

The investigation, led by the district attorney’s Virtual Currency Unit in partnership with the FBI, uncovered an elaborate scheme that stole millions of dollars from victims through false investment opportunities. After the initial theft, the perpetrators allegedly promised to return the funds, only to extract additional money from the same victims, as described by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

Assistant District Attorney Alona Katz, who headed the probe, said that taking control of the servers was crucial because it removed the infrastructure the scammers relied on to launch new sites and contact their targets. "We disabled the back end of the operation," Katz told Bloomberg.

The crackdown comes as reports of cryptocurrency‑related fraud have risen sharply across the United States. The FBI cited data showing that American victims lost $11.4 billion to crypto scams in 2025, a 22 percent increase over the previous year.

The operation reflects a broader push by federal and state authorities to address the growing threat of digital‑currency fraud and to protect consumers from sophisticated, cross‑border criminal networks.