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

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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