Q3 2025 in US crypto enforcement: the SEC brings 2 actions, and seizures lead

US agencies announced 41 distinct crypto enforcement actions in the third quarter of 2025, according to the Bitminer.io enforcement ledger. The Justice Department brought 30 and OFAC 6. The SEC brought 2, against 20 in the same quarter of 2024. Seizures were the most common step, with 10.

Cred’s executives sentenced

On August 29, Cred’s former chief executive and former finance chief were sentenced to 52 months and 36 months for wire fraud conspiracy. They had been indicted in May 2024 and pleaded guilty in May 2025.

Ponzi schemes

In July, prosecutors in Puerto Rico charged a founder and a promoter of OmegaPro, an investment scheme they said defrauded investors of over $650 million. In September, the chief executive of Praetorian Group International pleaded guilty to running a bitcoin Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 90,000 investors. He was sentenced to 20 years in February 2026.

Kidnapping

In September, two Texas brothers were charged with kidnapping after allegedly holding a Minnesota family at gunpoint for nine hours and stealing $8 million in crypto. They pleaded guilty in 2026 and in October 2026 were sentenced to 180 and 186 months.

A UK citizen who ran an online drug market paid in crypto was sentenced to nine years in September and forfeited more than $28 million in crypto.

Sources

1. Bitminer.io enforcement ledger: 2025
2. US Department of Justice, Cred sentences
3. US Department of Justice, OmegaPro charges
4. US Department of Justice, Praetorian plea
5. US Department of Justice, Minnesota kidnapping charges
6. US Department of Justice, online drug market sentence

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.