The scammers tricked a victim into providing cryptocurrency for online ‘product reviews.’
A Jacksonville victim of a cryptocurrency scam is getting a record-setting return of stolen funds.
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that his Office is returning $710,000 to the victim, who was ripped off through a work-from-home online scam where he was asked to provide “product reviews.” The victim was tricked into depositing cryptocurrency into an account where they were promised commissions on the products when they were sold. They never were.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigators traced the assets. Civil forfeiture proceedings ensued and a court issued a default judgment against the scammers, who did not contest the ruling.
Uthmeier said Thursday he was happy to provide the resulting judgment and payment from the forfeiture ruling to the victim. He said there’s never been a reimbursement of that level in cryptocurrency in Florida history. The recovery of the funds was spearheaded by Chief Assistant Statewide Prosecutor John Paul and Detective R.H. Holmes of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“Instead of setting records, we prefer to prevent fraud, but are proud to deliver justice and make this victim whole,” Uthmeier said in a news release. “Through our collaboration with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the dedication of Chief Assistant Statewide Prosecutor John Paul, we have recovered these funds from transnational criminals and returned them to their rightful owner.”
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said he was encouraged by the coordination between his detectives and Uthmeier’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
“Recovering more than $700,000 and returning it to the victim is an outstanding result and reflects the dedication of our detectives and the strong partnerships that make cases like this possible,” Waters said. “I want to thank Attorney General James Uthmeier and his team for their collaboration and commitment to holding fraudsters accountable.”
Uthmeier added the Jacksonville case serves a stark reminder about the potential dangers of online scams. Work-from-home scams are often aimed at the most vulnerable with promises of pay or investment dividends that ask for background checks, gift cards or crypto payment as part of the work. He also advised people to beware of unsolicited job offers, which usually are a red flag to avoid.