At a White House event on October 21, President Trump said about $1 billion in crypto tied to foreign scammers had been frozen. The Justice Department's Scam Center Strike Force puts the firm number at $938.5 million "restrained", which means held so it can't move. Getting any of it back to victims takes a forfeiture case in court first. Until then it isn't a refund, and anyone selling a faster payout for a fee is running the next scam.

Key facts

  • Who: The Justice Department's Scam Center Strike Force, highlighted at a White House event
  • What: Crypto restrained from overseas scam networks, mostly "pig butchering" investment scams; the FBI says it has dismantled 20 scam compounds
  • When: White House event on October 21, 2026; DOJ tally last updated October 15
  • How much: $938.5 million restrained (DOJ); Americans reported $11.4 billion in crypto fraud losses in 2025 (FBI)
  • Source: DOJ Scam Center Strike Force tally, reported by The Defiant and IBTimes

What was announced

The figures came from a White House roundtable on overseas crypto fraud. Trump said nearly $1 billion had been frozen and that more than 10,000 Americans had been warned they were being targeted. FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau had helped dismantle 20 scam compounds. The firmest number is the Justice Department's own: $938,460,156.82 restrained by its Scam Center Strike Force, as of October 15. Other figures from the event, including a claim of $1.6 billion in losses prevented, haven't been broken down publicly, and reports of how many victims were notified don't match.

Why victims shouldn't expect a check soon

Restraining crypto stops it moving. Before it can go back to anyone, the government usually has to win a forfeiture case. Then victims are identified and paid through a separate process called remission. That takes months at best, often years. Victims with a police report or an FBI complaint are far easier to match to the money than victims with neither. For scale, Americans reported $11.4 billion in crypto fraud losses to the FBI for 2025 alone. Even the full $938 million wouldn't cover a tenth of one year.

The scam this headline will feed

  • Expect calls, DMs and ads saying you're "on the list" for a share of the seized $1 billion, and that you only need to pay a processing fee, tax or "release charge" first. That's a recovery scam aimed at people who have already lost money.
  • Real payouts from the US government don't charge a fee and don't come through Telegram or WhatsApp. Official victim notices come from the Justice Department or the FBI.
  • Read our story on fake fund-recovery firms after the Drift hack. It's the same trick, and the 2-minute scam check will flag it.

Victims who have filed at ic3.gov, the FBI's complaint site, with wallet addresses and transaction IDs are the ones who can be matched if money comes back. Know someone who lost money to a crypto "investment"? Send them this.

Sources: The Defiant, IBTimes UK, Coindoo, The Crypto Times, DOJ Scam Center Strike Force tally (updated Oct 15, 2026).