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US Secret Service Becomes Major Crypto Custodian After US$400M Seizure
- The Secret Service has recovered nearly US$400M in crypto assets over the last decade.
- Its largest haul was US$225M in Tether, seized from romance-investment scams.
- Most of the seized assets are stored in a single cold wallet, among the world’s largest.
The US Secret Service has seized nearly US$400 million (AU$614.68 million) in cryptocurrencies across the past ten years, with the majority stored in a single cold-storage wallet – now one of the largest in the world. The most substantial of these operations was a US$225 million (AU$346 million) recovery in Tether, linked to widespread romance-investment scams.
This success stems from the work of the Global Investigative Operations Center (GIOC), the Secret Service’s cybercrime unit, which tracks illicit funds through blockchain analysis, open-source data, and investigative patience. The unit has dismantled operations by linking wallet activity, domain records, and even exposed IP addresses due to VPN failures.
Scams often begin through social manipulation. In one typical case, victims were led to professional-looking crypto investment platforms showing early gains before the sites vanished without a trace. “That’s how they do it,” explained GIOC analyst Jamie Lam, referencing how criminals use fake dating profiles to lure in targets
They’ll send you a photo of a really good-looking guy or girl. But it’s probably some old guy in Russia.
Jamie Lam, Investigative Analyst, US Secret Service
Related: Aussie Police Crack Down on Crypto ATM Scam Nexus Exposing $433K Widow’s Loss
Training the World in Crypto Crime Detection
Kali Smith, who leads the agency’s cryptocurrency strategy, has overseen training efforts in over 60 countries, helping local police and prosecutors identify crypto fraud through blockchain tools. These sessions are offered for free, particularly in jurisdictions with weak financial oversight or citizenship-for-sale programmes.
Sometimes after just a week-long training, they can be like, ‘Wow, we didn’t even realise that this is occurring in our country’
Kali Smith, Leader of Cryptocurrency Strategy, Secret Service
One investigation exposed a sextortion case involving an Idaho teen, leading analysts to a wallet processing US$4.1 million (AU$6.3 million). A suspect was later arrested in the UK and remains in custody.
Crypto fraud now represents the bulk of US internet crime losses, with the FBI logging US$9.3 billion (AU$14.29 billion) in crypto-related fraud in 2024 alone. With support from firms like Coinbase and Tether, which helped freeze and trace wallets, the Secret Service has become one of the largest crypto custodians in law enforcement worldwide.
Related: UK Judge Rejects $1.19 Billion Bitcoin Recovery Case, Citing Unrealistic Success Odds
Author
Rachel Lourdesamy
Rachel is a freelance writer based in Sydney with experience within financial services, marketing, and corporate communications in the APAC region. An avid reader and a graduate of the University of Sydney, she covers topics including business, finance and human interest.
