It was the first time in the history of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office that stolen crypto currency funds had been seized and returned.
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Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly presented checks to two Palm Coast residents who were ripped off in cryptocurrency scams, making it the first time in the agency’s history that cryptocurrency funds were returned to their owners, according to a July 7 release.
Staly presented the first victim with a check for $612.71 and the second victim with check for $4,000 on July 2, according to the release.
Detective First Class John Hill of the FCSO Cyber Crimes Unit worked two separate investigations lasting approximately six and seven months, respectively, leading to the seizure and return of the funds.
In December, a woman reported that someone had “persuaded her to transfer money from a bitcoin account through the mobile payment application CashApp,” the release stated.
“Cyber crimes detectives tracked a portion of the funds totaling $612.71 to a Coinbase wallet,” the release stated. Detectives seized the funds In April.
In January, another woman reported that she received an email claiming to be from PayPal. The email claimed she owed money and provided a contact number. She called and a “suspect gained access to her computer and, after claiming a refund error, persuaded the victim to go to a gas station and transfer $4,000 in bitcoin through a kiosk,” the release stated.
Detectives “tracked the funds to an LBank Exchange wallet associated with an individual from India. In May, detectives executed a search warrant and seized the funds,” the release stated.
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols authorized the seized funds to be released back to their owners.
“Cryptocurrency scams are becoming very popular by criminals, and it is notoriously difficult to get that money back,” said Sheriff Staly. “This is one of the reasons we created the Cyber Crimes Unit and purchased the sophisticated financial software for the unit to use. Tracing, seizing and returning the money stolen during these scams is a significant achievement by our Cyber Crimes Unit and especially Detective First Class Hill.”
No suspects have been arrested and the investigations are ongoing.
“I urge all residents to educate themselves on cryptocurrency scams and other scams that criminals use to prey on our community,” Staly added. “Pay close attention to signs of a potential scam and be wary of giving personal information or sending money to anyone who you have not met in person.”
The sheriff’s office stated that to learn how to avoid and report cryptocurrency scams, visit consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-cryptocurrency-and-scams.
The FCSO Community Engagement Unit offers presentations on frauds and scams. To learn more, email CommunityEngagement@flaglersheriff.com.