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US Seizes $24M in Crypto as Part of Brazilian Probe Into $200M Fraud Scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday the seizure of $24 million in cryptocurrency after a request from Brazilian police.

By Kevin Reynolds
AccessTimeIconNov 4, 2020 at 10:24 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:27 a.m. UTC
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday it had seized some $24 million in cryptocurrencies from a scheme that defrauded "tens of thousands of Brazilians" of over $200 million.

  • According to the DOJ announcement, the seizure was made after a request from Brazil for help with a large cryptocurrency fraud case that Brazilian federal police had dubbed “Operation Egypto.”  
  • Several individuals, including local Marcos Antonios Fagundes, were charged as part of the scheme, which operated between August 2017 and May 2019.
  • Fagundes allegedly operated an unregistered financial institution to hold the cryptocurrencies he and his compatriots took from victims, and is charged with violating money laundering and securities laws violations.
  • The cryptocurrencies appear to have been held in the U.S., the DOJ said.

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