U.S. Seeks Forfeiture of $65,028 in USDC in Alleged Ohio Scam

Federal prosecutors in Ohio are seeking forfeiture of 65,028.09 USD Coin (USDC) held at an Ethereum address, alleging it is tied to an investment scam involving an Eastlake resident. The civil action targets about $65,028 in tokens, while prosecutors allege $198,232.92 left the resident’s Coinbase account through transfers connected to the scheme.

Filed Nov. 9, the complaint names the cryptocurrency as the property subject to forfeiture and does not name a person as a defendant. It identifies the resident as J.S. and describes the owner or owners of the target address as unknown. Prosecutors attribute about 65,026 USDC at the address to J.S.’ funds; the remaining 2.09 USDC came from small dust receipts.

Prosecutors allege an unsolicited caller using the name Jake Williams claimed to be a financial adviser and cryptocurrency trading expert. Williams allegedly persuaded J.S. to move about $600,000 from a retirement account to a Citizens Bank account, then send more than $100,000 from the bank to Coinbase. Prosecutors further allege Williams gained remote access to J.S.’ laptop and transferred funds from Coinbase to two cryptocurrency addresses. About 60 transfers totaling $198,232.92 went to addresses controlled by fraudsters from Dec. 17, 2025, through March 31, 2026, prosecutors allege.

The complaint says J.S. has not received any of the transferred funds back. It also alleges Williams showed J.S. a wallet with a purported balance of about $860,000. When J.S. tried to withdraw the money, Williams blamed an IRS freeze and said J.S.’ accountant had not filed taxes since 2021. The filing says J.S. could not access or independently locate that purported wallet.

A federal seizure warrant was issued and served on Circle on May 20, 2026. Circle confirmed that it had blocklisted the Ethereum address, preventing USDC from entering or leaving it. If a court orders forfeiture, Circle would transfer the USDC equivalent to the United States, and prosecutors would seek to return the funds to J.S.

The case concerns only the amount traced to one address, not the full loss alleged in the complaint. The government must prove its claims by a preponderance of the evidence, and the allegations have not been established in court. Reported U.S. complaints involving cryptocurrency investment fraud totaled 61,559 in 2025, with losses of $7.228 billion, up 25% from 2024. Those figures cover reported complaints and losses, not every fraud incident.