Success Case of Recovering Money from a Crypto Scam
We selected the following case study from our large database as we believe it is quite representative and many scam victims could benefit from reading it. Integrity Legal Center case coordinators are often in contact with clients who have had a very similar experience and need appropriate help.
Though every case is unique, many defrauded individuals have experienced financial loss through providing cryptocurrency to swindlers. This is mainly because fraudsters abuse the benefits of crypto like being easily transferable. As a result, a large number of people approach us on a daily basis due to crypto scams, and this is how Integrity Legal Center helped one such individual.
Please note that for privacy reasons, the names and places have been modified. However, we did leave the actual name of the cryptocurrency scam. Furthermore, our client has given their consent to publish their modified story so other crypto fraud victims could benefit.
The Case of Jeremy W.
How he lost money to KontoFX and How Integrity Legal Center Helped Him Retrieve It
In late January 2022, Mr. W. left his contact details on the Orbit Recovery site with a simple note that he wasn’t able to access his assets. Our case coordinator quickly took notice and after a brief email exchange, they scheduled a conversation over the phone.
The Importance of the First Phone Call.
Jeremy’s Story and how he lost his money
During the first phone call, our agent could ascertain the
following information. Jeremy was a hardworking man living in a
larger city in Nebraska. He had built a career in the carpentering
industry, and though still in his prime, he was thinking about
making some investments in order to increase his pension fund to
enjoy his golden years comfortably. For this reason, he was reading
about and exploring potential crypto investments.
While he was frequenting a Facebook group dedicated to providing
news about the crypto market he saw an advertisement for KontoFX. It
got him intrigued and he visited their site. As he was impressed by
the platform he left his contact information. As Jeremy recalls,
this occurred in the late spring of 2021, May presumably.
Integrity Legal Center Comment:
Very often individuals get in contact
with cryptocurrency scams through advertisements on social media.
People tend to be less suspicious of marketing content on the
platforms they frequent. As a result, they easily fall for
money-grabbing traps as they feel social media like Facebook,
Instagram, and even Linkedin are safe spaces. Unfortunately,
crypto scams
exploit this and that’s why they often advertise there. So far, big
institutions like Meta do very little to put a stop to this.
Soon after he was contacted by a man presenting himself as Fred
Goldman, who was rather friendly and available to help any day and
night. Jeremy received a series of calls during which Mr. Goldman
actively enticed Jeremy to make deposits to KontoFX.
Throughout several summer months of 2021, Mr. Goldman was in
constant contact with Jeremy, instructing him to buy Bitcoins and
forward them to KontoFX. In the end, Jeremy deposited in total over
30,000 USA dollars into the crypto fraud. He was manipulated into
believing he was investing in a legitimate business which was giving
him excellent returns.
Integrity Legal Center Comment:
Scam targets are often exposed to
social engineering and heavy manipulating tactics that entice them
to give out more and more money to fraudsters. A common scamming
tactic is to make the target believe they are generating money,
usually with a fake representation of numbers on their account. The
person is led to believe they are making money, so they invest
further sums, while in fact, it’s all a lie, and they are simply
giving away their money to criminals.
After Jeremy presented his case, the Integrity Legal Center representative realized that Mr. W was still under the delusion that he had made a substantial profit summing up to $70,000, and all he needed was some help to access it. Our experienced professional had encountered this kind of situation countless times.
Integrity Legal Center Comment:
Considerable number of scam victims
are not aware they have been defrauded. As part of a coping
mechanism, they rationalize the scheme and the buy-in hollow excuses
the scammers feed them. This is a normal human reaction to falsely
hope for the better, otherwise, the person needs to come to terms
they have lost huge amounts of money.
The Case Coordinator collected the information from the initial
conversation and immediately scheduled the next meeting over the
phone, of course with Jeremy’s permission. The agent checked Orbit
Recovery’s database of scams and he did a cursory investigation on
KontoFX. It was clear this was a fraud, and that Jeremy W. was
unfortunate to get caught in it.
Integrity Legal Center Helps Scam Victims Understand Their Case.
How Jeremy came to terms with his financial loss
Afterward, The Integrity Legal Center representative and Mr. W. had several phone meetings during which the case coordinator tactfully explained Jeremy’s situation. Mr. W. hadn’t made $70,000 trading on the crypto market, and that money wasn’t “simply locked in an account”. Those were just fake numbers to feed the lie, while Jeremy did in fact lose about $30,000.
Understandably, it was rough for Mr. W. but it was a necessary step. Integrity Legal Center representatives pride themselves on their investigative skills, but they value their empathy and communication skills even more. After all, we understand that our clients have suffered great financial and emotional loss and we treat them with kindness and respect.
Taking the First Step.
Jeremy hired Integrity Legal Center which was the beginning of the reimbursement process
Once Jeremy got to terms with his loss, he decided to hire Orbit Recovery services and he became our official client in January 2022. The case coordinator was on top of the case right away. What followed was a crucial step in the recovery process. The case coordinator interviewed Mr. W. with the intent to acquire any pertinent details which could help the case.
Our team ascertained that Jeremy W. used his
credit card
issued by Wells Fargo bank to purchase Bitcoins on a respectable
crypto exchange platform. Mr. W. did this 6 times in the period of
72 days with each next purchase being larger than the previous.
Also, Jeremy used the same CEX services to transfer his crypto
assets every time. The case coordinator helped Mr. W. with
collecting all the necessary receipts and documentation. More
importantly, the case coordinator managed to track transactions and
provide the listings to back them up.
Integrity Legal Center Investigative Work
The challenges our team overcomes when helping a client
In the meantime, the Integrity Legal Center team did a thorough search on
KontoFX collecting data and evidence of fraud. As Mr. W. used crypto
assets to make deposits, the team also performed crypto tracing, and
as it turned out, the scammers were fully prepared. They were
jumping pieces of crypto from one wallet to another, thus dispersing
Jeremy’s $30,000 in Bitcoin. Nevertheless, this was a common
obfuscation tactic that the Integrity Legal Center team had dealt with
countless times.
The fraudsters behind the fake crypto investments platform tried to cover their tracks, but their biggest mistake was that they all collected their crypto on CEX.IO, with accounts connected to 2 separate banks in China. Later on, through digital forensics analysis, Integrity Legal Center was able to discover the identity of scammers and prove that their accounts were directly connected to KontoFX fraud.
Holding the Liable Financial Institutions Responsible
The Integrity Legal Center team took the case to banks and crypto exchange platforms to dispute charges
All the data and evidence that the Integrity Legal Center team had
collected was utilized by the case managers who took over Jeremy’s
case. They made a plan of recovery and they identified all the
liable financial institutions and crypto trading platforms including
Wells Fargo, two crypto trading platforms, along with several
intermediary banks. Practically speaking, these financial
institutions enabled the KontoFX scam to profit and benefit from the
transfer of funds.
The case managers prepared all the necessary documentation for
appeals to the financial institutions These custom-made written
files would serve as official claims which would dispute the charges
which impacted Mr. W negatively.
What ensued was a lengthy dispute process during which Orbit Recovery would instruct Jeremy and provide him with new letters which pushed the reimbursement claims further. This to a layman seems like a grueling process of two steps back one step forward. Nevertheless, our experts knew that this was all a legal pageantry financial institutions abuse to eschew responsibility and pay back their customers.
Success!
In the end, Jeremy W received most of his money back
After almost half a year, in August 2022 Jeremy W decided to close his case. Integrity Legal Center has helped him recover $26,422 which is 88% of his initial losses. We were glad to help yet another customer, and we are always ready to help new scam victims.