CT state police recover $23K for a victim of a cryptocurrency scam
An estimated $23,000 that was deposited under false pretenses to Bitcoin ATM machines was returned to the person who was scammed, following an investigation by the Connecticut State Police Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force, police said.
The task force learned on Sept. 22, 2022 of a complaint from a Milford resident about a theft by false pretenses, state police said. The theft resulted in loss of $41,150.00 when the victim “was scammed into depositing the money into a series of Bitcoin ATM machines,” state police said in a statement, noting the theft also was reported to the Milford Police Department.
“The funds were traced to two major cryptocurrency exchanges located in both the United States and the Cayman Islands,” state police said. “During the month of September, SOCITF investigators were able to recover a portion of the Bitcoin from the two exchanges. Investigators learned that the suspects reside outside of the United States and no arrest is anticipated at this time.”
The seized funds, approximately $23,000 were returned to the victim on Dec. 30, due to a “successful restitution action before the Milford Superior Court.”
State police said scams involving “cryptocurrency are on the rise and are becoming increasingly more sophisticated.”
Anyone who believe they are the victim of a scam should report it to your local police department or local State Police troop as soon as possible and file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, at www.consumerfinance.gov, police said.
