Crypto Fraud

Scammers are taking advantage of the holiday season, targeting online shoppers and crypto users with faster and more convincing tricks. Most attacks happen on social platforms, using fake profiles and urgent messages to steal money, and victims need to act quickly to protect their assets.

A British man, Joseph James O’Connor, has been ordered to return $5.4 million in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies after hijacking celebrity Twitter accounts in 2020. The civil recovery covers the increased value of the stolen crypto and will be managed by a court-appointed trustee for public restitution.

Chinese national, Zhimin Qian, was jailed for bitcoin fraud in London, and UK authorities seized 61,000 bitcoins worth over £5 billion.

Spanish crypto influencer Álvaro Romillo has been arrested for allegedly running a €260 million Ponzi-style fraud through his company, Madeira Invest Club. He remains in custody after a court found he posed a flight risk following the discovery of a €29 million offshore account in Singapore.

Hong Kong authorities have formally charged 16 individuals, including influencer and former barrister Joseph Lam Chok, over their alleged involvement in the HK$1.6 billion JPEX cryptocurrency fraud, which is considered to be one of the city’s largest financial crime cases to date.

Former Australian NRL player Trent Merrin has been charged with stealing $140,000 in cryptocurrency and was arrested at his Barrack Point home. Police allege he accessed another person’s crypto account without permission, and he is due to appear in court on 3 December.

Celebrity hairstylist Jawed Habib, his son, and an associate are accused of defrauding over 150 investors of Rs 5–7 crore through a fake crypto scheme. Police say they used his fame to gain trust and have issued lookout notices as investigations continue.

The UK plans to return $7 billion in Bitcoin to Chinese investors after a major fraud case, with the criminals pleading guilty to money laundering. Authorities face challenges tracing claims and distributing the funds due to cross-border complexities and China’s crypto ban.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, has once again spoken out from prison — this time admitting that his “biggest mistake” wasn’t the mismanagement of customer funds, but his decision to hand over control of the company to new management.

It was supposed to be a quiet afternoon stroll in a Bangkok luxury mall. But for one Portuguese journalist, that walk would turn into a global manhunt’s breakthrough — leading to the dramatic arrest of a fugitive crypto scammer behind a $580 million fraud empire.