Brooklyn Prosecutors and FBI Take Down Crypto Scam Network Aimed at Russian Speakers

Federal agents and prosecutors in Brooklyn have broken up an Eastern European scam ring accused of taking tens of millions of dollars from Americans, most of them Russian speakers.

The action took place last week and was made public on Wednesday. Investigators shut down 241 websites and seized 112 servers hosted by companies in Eastern Europe and the United States. No one has been arrested so far. District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the group drained victims through an elaborate investment scheme and then went back to the same people with false promises of getting their money returned. He credited the office’s Virtual Currency Unit and the FBI for tracing the network’s infrastructure.

Why the Server Seizures Matter

Taking the servers offline was the core of the operation, because it cut the scammers’ ability to build new sites and reach out to victims. Assistant District Attorney Alona Katz, who led the case, said investigators disabled the back end of the operation.

Crypto Fraud Losses Keep Rising in the US

The bust comes as crypto related fraud grows across the country. FBI figures show Americans reported $11.4 billion in crypto fraud losses in 2025, a 22% jump from the year before.