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§ — · Jurisdiction: US

Crypto recovery in the US
is a multi-agency process.

US crypto-fraud victims face a more complex regulatory landscape than most jurisdictions: the FBI's IC3 portal, the FTC's Sentinel database, the SEC, the CFTC, and your state-level financial regulator all have overlapping interest. Effective recovery in the US requires filing in the right places in the right order, AND coordinated civil or criminal action where the fraud trail lands inside US jurisdiction. CryptoLeek operates with US counsel across multiple federal districts.

§ 01 · Who regulates crypto fraud here

The agencies your case touches.

IC3

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center

The primary federal reporting channel for crypto fraud. IC3 reports feed into FBI investigations and Joint Criminal Task Force operations. File even for losses under $10,000 — IC3 uses aggregated reports to identify patterns and operators.

Visit warning list →
FTC

Federal Trade Commission

The FTC Sentinel database is shared with 3,000+ law-enforcement agencies. Filing here triggers consumer-protection responses and adds your case to the aggregate.

Visit warning list →
SEC

Securities and Exchange Commission

For fraudulent investment platforms that offered securities-like returns (most fake-trading scams qualify), the SEC has enforcement authority.

CFTC

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

For fraudulent crypto futures, derivatives, or leveraged trading platforms — the CFTC has been increasingly active in crypto enforcement.

§ 02 · First steps for victims

What to do in the first 24 hours.

  1. 01

    File an IC3 report immediately

    ic3.gov takes about 30 minutes. The report goes to the FBI and is searchable by US Joint Criminal Task Force investigators. Do this even if your loss seems small — patterns aggregate.

  2. 02

    File an FTC ReportFraud submission

    reportfraud.ftc.gov. Feeds the Sentinel database that 3,000+ agencies search.

  3. 03

    Notify your bank or card issuer immediately

    Federal law (Reg E for debit, Reg Z for credit) gives you formal dispute rights that close after 60 days for unauthorised charges. Even for cards used to buy crypto, the trail back through Coinbase / Kraken / Robinhood is often actionable.

  4. 04

    File a state Attorney General complaint

    Most state AGs have a consumer-protection division that takes crypto-fraud complaints and refers them to the SEC, CFTC, or US Attorney as appropriate.

§ 03 · Scam patterns common here

What we see most in the United States.

  • ● Investment-platform scams using fake "registered investment advisor" claims — easily verified against SEC IAPD
  • ● CFTC-violation patterns: fake leveraged crypto futures targeting retail accounts
  • ● Romance-to-investment ("pig butchering") with US-based mules receiving wire transfers before crypto conversion
  • ● Recovery scams cold-calling IC3 filers within weeks of their original report (the FBI explicitly warns about this)
§ 04 · How CryptoLeek operates here

Our footprint in the US market.

For US victims, CryptoLeek operates with bar-licensed counsel in major federal districts including SDNY, EDNY, NDCA, and DDC. We have direct compliance contacts at Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood, Cash App, and the major fiat on-ramps. We coordinate with the FBI and US Attorney's offices where criminal referrals are warranted, and we work with your state AG's consumer-protection division for additional escalation pressure.

§ 05 · Frequently asked

Questions US victims ask us most.

Will the FBI investigate my crypto-fraud case? +
IC3 reports go to the FBI; whether your specific case gets investigated depends on the loss size, the number of related reports, and whether the trail leads to a tractable target. Even cases that are not individually investigated contribute to pattern-recognition that triggers larger operations. CryptoLeek's parallel investigation runs regardless of FBI activity and often surfaces information that accelerates official action.
Can I use a chargeback to recover crypto fraud? +
Sometimes. If you used a credit card to buy crypto from a regulated exchange that then went to the fraudulent platform, Reg Z gives you formal dispute rights — but the success rate is mixed because the chain of transactions complicates causation. For debit cards, Reg E is tighter (60 days). CryptoLeek will tell you in the free review whether a chargeback path is worth pursuing for your specific case.
How does US civil action for crypto recovery work? +
Where the fraud trail leads to identifiable counterparties in US jurisdiction, civil-litigation paths include John Doe lawsuits to obtain exchange-deposit-address disclosure, asset-freezing orders, and direct claims against the platform operators. This is jurisdictional and requires bar-licensed counsel; CryptoLeek coordinates the investigation work and hands off cleanly to the counsel network for litigation.

Lost crypto in the United States?
The free 24-hour case review tells you what's recoverable.

We give you an honest yes/no/conditional verdict within one business day, with the specific recovery path mapped to your jurisdiction. The assessment is free; if we accept the case, the investigation retainer is quoted in writing before any work begins.

Free 24h review
Open a case file → Or email us
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