Regulation1 min readThe AssayerLook-back
Q2 2025 in US crypto enforcement: a record scam seizure and a 270-arrest darknet sweep
US agencies announced 39 distinct crypto enforcement actions in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Bitminer.io enforcement ledger. The Justice Department brought 26 and the SEC 10. The quarter’s 10 prison sentences had a median of 144 months, the highest of any full quarter in the ledger, which starts in 2024.
Scam money
On June 18, prosecutors in Washington filed to forfeit more than $225.3 million in crypto they traced to the laundering of money taken in crypto confidence scams, where victims are talked into fake investments. They described it as the largest seizure of its kind, and said more than 400 people around the world were suspected victims.
Operation RapTor
In May, the Justice Department and its international partners announced Operation RapTor, against drug markets on the darknet. It led to 270 arrests of vendors, buyers and administrators in ten countries and the seizure of more than $200 million in currency and digital assets.
A theft ring grows
On May 15, a superseding indictment charged 12 more people in the racketeering case that began with the $230 million bitcoin theft of August 2024. Prosecutors said the ring netted more than $263 million.
Sanctions and offerings
In June, a Russian citizen living in New York was charged with using his crypto payment company, Evita, to move more than $500 million in payments, including for sanctioned Russian banks. In May, the SEC charged Unicoin and four executives with fraud in an offering that raised more than $100 million from thousands of investors.
Sources
- Bitminer.io enforcement ledger: 2025
- US Department of Justice, $225.3 million forfeiture complaint
- US Department of Justice, Operation RapTor
- US Department of Justice, superseding indictment in theft ring
- US Department of Justice, Evita charges
- SEC, Unicoin charges
By The Assayer, the Bitminer.io house byline. Written by AI from the sources above and checked automatically. No person reviewed it before publication. How we work.
