Q3 2026 in US crypto enforcement: Goliath’s $425 million and a $61 million Iran forfeiture

US agencies announced 39 distinct crypto enforcement actions in the third quarter of 2026, according to the Bitminer.io enforcement ledger, up from 30 in the second. The Justice Department brought 23, the SEC 7, OFAC 6 and the CFTC 3. Five actions involved sanctions evasion and five violent crime.

Goliath Ventures

On August 11, the SEC charged Goliath Ventures and its chief executive, alleging a Ponzi scheme that raised at least $425 million from over 1,300 investors between 2023 and 2026 by promising monthly returns of 3% to 10% from crypto liquidity pools. The CFTC filed its own complaint the same day. The chief executive had already pleaded guilty to criminal charges in June.

Iran and the scam economy

In September, prosecutors in New York sought to forfeit about $61 million in crypto they said came from black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian oil, meant to fund Iran’s government and its Revolutionary Guard.

The Scam Center Strike Force moved against Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace on Telegram where vendors sold services to scam operators, from fake investment websites to money laundering. It restrained $52 million in crypto.

Ponzi schemes and a ringleader

In August, a jury convicted the owner of Profit Connect, a Las Vegas company that claimed to mine crypto with an AI supercomputer, of taking $24 million from at least 400 investors. He had been charged in February 2025. A Georgia man accused of a $165 million crypto Ponzi scheme was returned from Fiji to face charges.

On September 8, the ringleader of the social engineering ring behind the $230 million bitcoin theft of August 2024 pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy.

Sources

1. Bitminer.io enforcement ledger: 2026
2. SEC, Goliath Ventures charges
3. CFTC, Goliath Ventures complaint
4. US Department of Justice, Iranian oil crypto forfeiture
5. US Department of Justice, Xinbi Guarantee action
6. US Department of Justice, Profit Connect verdict
7. US Department of Justice, $165 million Ponzi charges
8. US Department of Justice, ringleader plea

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.