The Justice Department Fraud Section released its 2025 Year in Review on Thursday, highlighting three major fraud prosecutions where cryptocurrency played a material role, and saying enforcement rose as digital assets became embedded in traditional scams, stated the report. The review covered charges, seizures, and larger trends that drove increased investigations nationwide.
Prosecutors charged 265 defendants in cases with an aggregate intended fraud loss exceeding $16 billion, more than double the prior year. The Fraud Section operates through specialized units that handle market, health care, and consumer fraud.
In one case, Tyler Kontos, Joel “Max” Kupetz, and Jorge Kinds were charged over a $1 billion amniotic wound allograft fraud scheme that allegedly produced over $600 million in improper Medicare payments. Authorities seized more than $7.2 million in assets, including bank accounts and cryptocurrency.
The report also noted a National Health Care Fraud Takedown that charged 324 people in schemes with about $14.6 billion in intended loss. That operation led to seizures exceeding $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency, and other assets.
Last November, Travis Ford, former CEO of Wolf Capital, was sentenced to five years for a $9.4 million crypto investment fraud that targeted roughly 2,800 investors and diverted funds for personal use. The scheme promised “1–2% daily returns” and was described as offering about 547% annual returns.
Lawmakers moved to respond. Elissa Slotkin and Jerry Moran introduced the bipartisan SAFE Crypto Act to create a federal task force within 180 days. Meanwhile, Alvin Bragg urged states to criminalize unlicensed crypto operations, warning of a $51 billion criminal economy.
Crime is also changing fast. Ari Redbord of TRM Labs warned, “The most important shift right now is speed. We’ve seen roughly a 500% increase in AI-enabled fraud, and that increase isn’t just about volume—it’s about how fast criminal operations can now move.” (Ed. note: This statistic shows the rapid scale-up of automated scams.)
