The United States Secret Service has seized $1.5 million from the Binance cryptocurrency account of a Nigerian identified as Avwerosuo Omokri, following an investigation into allegations of internet fraud and money laundering.
According to documents obtained by Peoples Gazette, the funds were traced to fraudulent activities, including a fake investment scheme that lured victims into depositing money under false pretenses.
Special Agent Katrina Caulfield, who led the investigation, revealed that the fraud syndicate operated through an online group called “Financial Independence Forum” on Facebook. Victims were promised financial freedom through high-yield investments but were later asked to pay additional fees before withdrawing their supposed profits.
One of the victims, a resident of Massachusetts, reported losing 1.3 Bitcoin (BTC) after transferring funds to an account linked to the fraudulent scheme. The scammers allegedly used multiple intermediary wallets to obscure the flow of funds before depositing them into Omokri’s Binance account.
Further investigations showed that other victims also sent thousands of dollars to the fraud syndicate, with the stolen funds being moved through different wallets to avoid detection.
Binance account records linked the transactions to Omokri, a Nigerian passport holder, who reportedly accessed the wallets using multiple devices. Based on the findings, Agent Caulfield filed a motion on February 16, 2025, seeking a permanent forfeiture of the seized assets.
The confiscated funds include various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Avalanche (AVAX), Tether (USDT), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and PEPE tokens. The Secret Service maintains that these funds are proceeds of wire fraud and money laundering.
Authorities continue to track other members of the syndicate as investigations unfold.
