FBI and Brooklyn DA seize 112 servers in Eastern European crypto scam bust

US authorities have dismantled the back end of an Eastern European cryptocurrency scam ring. Brooklyn prosecutors working with the FBI announced on Wednesday that they seized 112 servers and shut down 241 websites linked to investment fraud that stole tens of millions of dollars from Americans — largely Russian-speakers. No arrests were reported.

What was taken down

According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, the operation was carried out last week and announced on 14 October:

• Servers were hosted by companies in Eastern Europe and the United States.
• Seizing the machines was meant to stop scammers from spinning up new sites and contacting victims.
• Assistant District Attorney Alona Katz, who led the investigation, told Bloomberg the office had “disabled the back end of the operation.”

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the criminals first stole money through an elaborate investment scheme, then tried to exploit victims again with false promises to recover their funds. He credited the office’s Virtual Currency Unit and the FBI.

Wider fraud backdrop

The bust lands amid rising crypto fraud losses in the United States. Americans reported $11.4 billion in crypto fraud losses in 2025, a 22% increase from the prior year, according to FBI figures cited by Bloomberg.

What’s next

Disrupting hosting does not by itself end the schemes: operators can migrate to new providers. The announcement did not name individual defendants or link specific trading platforms. Victims of similar recovery scams are typically urged to contact local law enforcement and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center rather than pay anyone offering to “unlock” funds.

For a checklist of the most common warning signs, see how to spot crypto scams.