CLEVELAND — A major milestone was reached in the ongoing efforts to recover funds lost to cryptocurrency scams, as the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation surpassed half a million dollars in recoveries for victims.
As your consumer reporter, I noticed this because when I first started telling stories about these scams, it seemed as if all hope was lost for victims.
But now, agencies like the BCI's Electronic Financial Investigations Unit, a specialized team dedicated to tracking digital crimes, have cutting-edge technology to trace lost funds.
Scott Stranahan, a special agent supervisor with Ohio BCI, told me ongoing training with local, state and federal partners, including the FBI, combined with advanced software, has helped investigators achieve better results.
I asked him why milestones like this matter.
"So, headlines like that and that type of success, I think are important just to raise awareness around this particular topic and to show that there is some hope and law enforcement is working hard to try to make people whole or at least get some of their funds back," said Stranahan.
One victim who lost $1.1M in an investment scam had $40,000 returned to them after BCI took over their case, and the agency believes there is potential to recover more than $900,000 in additional funds as their investigation continues.
