• The US Department of Justice has recorded a sharp increase in fraud involving cryptocurrencies and record damage to the economy.

• Digital assets are increasingly being used in large-scale schemes, including healthcare scams and investment projects.

• The authorities and legislators are increasing pressure on the market by preparing new laws and controls.

The US Department of Justice has published a report for 2025, in which it named several major fraud cases involving cryptocurrencies. The agency notes that digital assets are increasingly being used in classic criminal schemes, and the fight against such crimes has noticeably intensified.

Last year was a record year for the prosecutor's office. Charges were brought against 265 defendants, and the total damage exceeded $16 billion. This is more than twice as much as a year earlier. Many cases were accompanied by the seizure of cryptocurrencies along with cash and other property.

Cryptocurrency in Major Fraudulent Schemes

The report highlights that cryptocurrency is increasingly featured in large-scale scams. One of the high-profile cases involves about $1 billion in healthcare fraud. According to investigators, the defendants performed medically unjustified procedures on elderly and seriously ill patients, which led to illegal payments of hundreds of millions of dollars to Medicare. During the investigation, the authorities seized assets, including cryptocurrency.

Separately, the report mentions the sentence of the former head of Wolf Capital, Travis Ford. He was sentenced to five years in prison for $9.4 million in crypto investment fraud. About 2,800 investors were affected, who were promised stable daily returns.

Increased pressure from law enforcement agencies is taking place against the background of new initiatives by lawmakers. A bipartisan bill, the SAFE Crypto Act, has been proposed in Congress, which involves the creation of a federal working group to coordinate the fight against crypto fraud.

In parallel, the state authorities are also calling for stricter rules. In New York, it was stated that unlicensed crypto operations are fueling 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 fraud has increased by about 500%. Criminal groups no longer act chaotically, but use well-established schemes that allow them to steal and launder funds in a matter of hours. In the coming years, such technologies, according to analysts, will become the main challenge for law enforcement agencies.