The US Department of Justice (DOJ) shows a significant change in its approach to cryptocurrency crimes.
Authorities now view digital assets not just as their own 'cryptofrauds,' but as important tools in today's major frauds.
The DOJ sees crypto as fraud infrastructure as AI turns scams into industrial operations
In the 2025 Year in Review, the DOJ highlights three major cases that show how crypto is used in ordinary crimes. They address:
Medicare fraud
Investment frauds worth multiple millions of USD, and
Asset laundering.
According to DOJ, prosecutors charged 265 individuals in 2025 for fraud where the planned loss was over 16 billion USD. That is more than double the amount from the year before.
The Fraud Section has specialized teams, such as the Health Care Fraud Unit. They handle the seizure of crypto, cash, luxury cars, and other assets.
Medicare fraud: the elderly were targeted in a 1 billion USD scam, crypto was seized
One of the most high-profile cases involved Tyler Kontos, Joel “Max” Kupetz, and Jorge Kinds. They were charged with a 1 billion USD fraud involving amniotic transplants.
The fraud targeted the elderly and seriously ill individuals. The scheme led them to earn over 600 million USD from fraudulent Medicare payments.
Later, authorities seized more than 7.2 million USD in assets, including crypto.
Wolf Capital's CEO convicted in 9.4 million USD crypto investment fraud
In another case, Travis Ford, former CEO of Wolf Capital, was sentenced to five years in prison. He was behind a 9.4 million USD fraud where 2,800 investors were promised an annual return of 547%.
These cases illustrate DOJ's new focus: They concern crypto as a common crime asset, like cash or luxury goods, not just as a speculative asset.
Authorities are no longer primarily focusing on price manipulation or hype, but on recovering assets and stopping criminal networks.
This follows DOJ's recent decision to charge a Venezuelan citizen for allegedly laundering 1 billion USD in crypto between the USA and high-risk countries.
AI makes crypto fraud into fast crime networks
The increasing number of fraud cases is linked to larger American political goals. The DOJ's “America First” policy aligns with the new SAFE Crypto Act. The law aims to create a federal task force within 180 days to combat crypto fraud.
“To create a group to find and stop crypto fraud and for other purposes,” states the bill, according to the text.
At the same time, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg urges states to make unlicensed crypto activity illegal. He warns that a criminal economy of 51 billion USD is growing in regulatory gaps.
DOJ and other authorities are also expected to focus on AI-driven fraud. Examples include synthetic token investments and scams about AI trading.
Regulation of crypto is now driven more by the role of financial infrastructure than by price volatility. This leads authorities to approach the same compliance and oversight requirements that apply to traditional finance.
When DOJ sees crypto as the foundation of modern fraud, regulation and control are more directed towards the fast, large, and sophisticated crime involving crypto.