U.S. Seeks to Recover $7.1 Million in Crypto from Fake Oil and Gas Investment Scam

Highlights:

• U.S. government moves to seize $7.1 million in cryptocurrency linked to international oil tank scam.
• Victims were lured with false promises of storage rental profits, losing over $17.9 million.
• Scammers laundered funds through 81 bank accounts and 19 crypto wallets across multiple countries.

The U.S. government is trying to claim ownership of $7.1 million in cryptocurrency that was taken by Homeland Security back in December. Authorities believe this money came from a fraudulent oil and gas investment scheme that tricked people into putting in their money with false promises of big returns. On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington’s Western District announced a legal effort to claim a portion of the $97 million linked to the alleged scam, which operated between June 2022 and July 2024.

U.S. commences civil action to forfeit $7.1 million in cryptocurrency tied to oil and gas storage fraud scheme – Crypto seized from wallets tied to Russian and Nigerian IP addresses https://t.co/LoCQb0yC06

— WDWAnews (@WDWAnews) July 22, 2025

U.S. Cracks Down on Crypto Scam Involving Oil Tank Investment Scheme

One person, Geoffrey K. Auyeung, 47, is accused of helping international criminal groups move illegal money. Last year, he was charged with multiple money laundering offenses. Prosecutors say he and others tricked people into sending money to so-called “escrow accounts” to buy oil tank storage in Rotterdam or Houston. Scammers told victims they would earn money by renting out the storage tanks.

But once people sent their money, the scammers stopped replying and disappeared, according to prosecutors. When he was arrested, U.S. authorities took about $2.3 million from his bank accounts. The seized crypto accounts were connected to unknown people in Russia and Nigeria.

According to lawyers, the criminals funneled the stolen money into 81 bank accounts, sent it abroad, and used at least 19 cryptocurrency addresses. They then used the money to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and Ethereum (ETH), and moved much of it to the Binance exchange.

A portion of the cryptocurrency was also transferred to trading platforms based in Russia and Nigeria. Investigators believe that at least one of these Russian or Nigerian platforms has helped international criminal groups, including terrorists and those breaking international trade laws, to launder money.

Prosecutors said they have found victims who lost $17.9 million in the scam and expect more people to come forward once they are identified and confirmed as victims. If the court agrees to let the government take the $7.1 million in crypto, the total recovered money would be $9.4 million. This amount would then be shared among the victims. The office said that federal investigators and prosecutors acted as quickly as they could to track and seize the cryptocurrency, hoping to recover some of the victims’ losses.

Global Efforts Grow to Stop Scammers

Lately, regulators have been taking action against scammers in the crypto world. Earlier this month, U.S. prosecutors charged two men linked to OmegaPro, accusing them of cheating investors out of $650 million. If found guilty, they could each face up to 40 years in prison. 

Last Friday, ex-rugby player Shane Donovan Moore received a 2.5-year U.S. federal prison sentence for a $900,000 Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 40 investors. On Thursday, Hong Kong police arrested four suspects for allegedly scamming investors out of 3 million HKD, or $382,000. But the main suspect escaped overseas. The recent U.S. oil scam highlights how crypto can be misused globally, but also shows enforcement efforts are quickly improving. 

INVESTORS—#ScamAlert⚠️
🇭🇰HKPF’s combatted a syndicate that’s defrauded 1️⃣1️⃣8️⃣victims of HK$3M+ (as of JUL 16) with bogus #CryptoInvestment opportunities upon the arrest of 4 locals—who lured individuals into investing💰in a📱platform feigning affiliation with the bona fide🇦🇪@DGCX… pic.twitter.com/UY1DoQWO3H

— Hong Kong Police Force (@hkpoliceforce) July 17, 2025