Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has announced his office successfully recovered an international electronic wallet and will return money to a Kansas victim of a crypto investment scam. It marked one of the state’s first successful civil actions against an international internet scammer. A Kansan filed a consumer complaint with the AG’s office that she was promised a large return in exchange for investing in cryptocurrency.
Kobach’s Charities and Financial Scams Unit filed a lawsuit against a Nigerian under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. He failed to respond after being served, but the District Court entered an order against him for full restitution and assessed penalties, which allowed the AG’s office to seize his digital wallet, which contained half of a bitcoin, valued at more than $28,900 and other digital currency valued at more than $4,000.
Kobach says scammers realize they have a better chance at getting away with fraud if they convince victims to send cryptocurrency. Everyone should always thoroughly scrutinize anyone they meet online before sending payment in cryptocurrency.
