The U.S. Secret Service has seized $1.5 million from the Binance wallet of Nigerian fraudster Avwerosuo Omokri following an investigation into an online investment scam.
Fraudulent Investment Scheme
In March 2024, a Massachusetts resident reported losing 1.3 BTC to a scam after joining a Facebook group called Financial Independence Forum. She was persuaded by an administrator, Tom Sheldon Haley, to invest in Trade Propel, a fake trading platform.
When she tried to withdraw her funds, she was told to pay a “tax on earnings”, a tactic common in crypto scams.
“Scammers often attempt to extract additional funds from victims by instructing them to pay ‘taxes’ before they can withdraw,” said Special Agent Katrina Caulfield.
Tracking the Funds
Investigators traced the stolen crypto through intermediary wallets before linking it to a Binance account registered under Omokri’s Nigerian passport and email (johnrichie513@gmail.com). Other victims had also deposited money into the fraud syndicate’s wallets, including:
1. Victim 2: $29,000
2. Victim 3: $35,000
The investigation found that Tom Sheldon Haley was a fake identity used by multiple scammers.
“Intermediary wallets help fraudsters conceal illicit funds by disrupting transaction trails on the blockchain,” Caulfield explained.
Seized Assets and Legal Action
On February 16, 2025, the Secret Service filed for the forfeiture of $1.5 million, which included:
7.23 BTC, 105.75 ETH, 14,120 USDT, and millions of SHIB and PEPE tokens.
This case underscores the growing sophistication of crypto fraud and law enforcement’s efforts to combat it.
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