JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Thursday that his office collaborated with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to return $710,000 to a victim of a cryptocurrency fraud scheme.
Officials said the victim fell prey to a remote work-from-home scam involving “product reviews.” The scammers convinced him to match the value of review items by depositing cryptocurrency to earn commissions and promised that all the funds would be returned plus profits.
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As the “products” grew larger, so the investment requests.
The scammer group then ghosted the man after they got every dollar out of them they could. They claimed the money was “stuck in the blockchain” unless he paid one final fee.
JSO investigators traced the funds to a large consolidation wallet with assets from multiple frauds, officials said. A default judgement was obtained after the scammers failed to contest the action.
“Recovering more than $700,000 and returning it to the victim is an outstanding result and reflects the dedication of our detectives and the strong partnerships that make cases like this possible,” JSO Sheriff T.K. Waters said. “I want to thank Attorney General James Uthmeier and his team for their collaboration and commitment to holding fraudsters accountable.”
“Instead of setting records, we prefer to prevent fraud, but are proud to deliver justice and make this victim whole,” Uthmeier said. “Through our collaboration with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the dedication of Chief Assistant Statewide Prosecutor John Paul, we have recovered these funds from transnational criminals and returned them to their rightful owner.”
Uthmeier said red flags of work-from-home scams include asking for upfront fees for background checks or equipment costs, buying gift cards or crypto as part of the job. Always independently contact the company to verify an online job opportunity before proceeding.
JSO Det. R.H. Holmes also led the recovery.