U.S. prosecutors recovered nearly $1.7 million in cryptocurrency investment fraud funds through "civil asset forfeiture proceedings".

According to Mars Finance, the U.S. Department of Justice website disclosed that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia successfully recovered 420,740.422314 USDT and 1,249,996.15 BUSD, totaling nearly $1.7 million, through civil asset forfeiture proceedings. These funds originated from cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering activities and are currently being returned to the victims. Court documents show that fraudsters contacted victims via text message and social media, posing as accidental contacts to lure them to an encrypted chat application. The fraudsters then gained the victims' trust and encouraged them to "invest" in cryptocurrency on a fake investment website. This website mimicked legitimate cryptocurrency investment platforms but actually transferred the victims' funds to the fraudsters.