It started with a connection on LinkedIn. It appears that the victim, who has not been publicly identified, made an investment of $100,000 in cryptocurrency through “Coinrule-web3” at the direction of a female LinkedIn correspondent. After what appeared to be an initial success, another 21 transfers were made, in amounts up to $2.1 million. The female correspondent at one point wrote that she “wanted him to leave his wife for her,” but the rest of their communications have not been released.

When the victim decided to cash out his winnings, he was told that he had to pay a $2.8 million fee to do so. He called his wife in a panic, asking her to withdraw all their assets so that he could pay the “fee” to get their money. That’s when she went to the police, reporting that her husband had been liquidating their investment accounts for the previous six months. A warrant was obtained to review the husband’s financial records, and the scam was uncovered. None of the funds were ever invested for the husband, the scamster obtained all the cryptocurrency for herself.

No information is available on the course of the investigation, or on the likelihood of arresting the perpetrator or recovering any of the couple’s life savings.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crimes Complaint Center, some $3.31 billion was lost to investment frauds in 2022. In a majority of cases, some $2.57 billion, cryptocurrency is a factor in executing the fraud.

If you believe you have been the target of a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme, report it as quickly as possible to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov).

Do you have a question concerning wealth management or trusts? Call us at 920-563-6616 ext. 3070, or email wealth@bankwithpremier.com.