Florida AG: $5.4M stolen in a crypto 'romance-turned-investment scam' found, recovered
State prosecutors crack down on crypto fraud, return money
FULL PRESS CONFERENCE | In a April 14 press conference with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and the Marion County Sheriff's office, authorities promise to prosecute those conducting crypto or online fraud, mostly targeting seniors.
OCALA, Fla. - Millions of dollars stolen from Floridians in sophisticated online cyber scams and cryptocurrency scams have been found – and, in some cases, thousands of dollars have been returned to those who thought it had been lost forever, officials said.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods touted the successes of the state's Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit during a press conference on Tuesday, which has been tasked with going after people attempting to scam people via various online schemes, and to recover the money people were scammed out of.
One victim in Marion County reportedly lost $450,000, which was later recovered, the Marion County Sheriff's Office said, noting that seniors appear to be particularly targeted in online scams.
"Seniors are losing their life savings every single day," said Sheriff Billy Woods said.
By the numbers:
AG Authmeier and Sheriff Woods shared some numbers from various operations conducted by the Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit:
- $3.3 million: What CFEU has recovered during the first quarter of 2026 fiscal year
- $7.2 million: What CFEU has recovered in total since its creation in 2023
- $12.6 million: Frozen crypto assets currently being litigated
- $450,000: Amount of money someone in Marion County lost in an apparent scam, which was found and recovered by the CFEU
Officials said they're following the money trails to track down, find, and prosecute "dangerous criminals" using the internet to scam people, especially seniors.
"As more activity is turning to social media and the Internet, a lot of fraud is taking place through cyber means," Uthmeier said.
Sheriff Woods: Seniors are being scammed out of their life savings
Criminals are using digital currency, such as Bitcoin, to steal from people online, Uthmeier said, saying a large majority of seniors are falling victim to these schemes.
According to a 2010 census, over three-million people living in Florida are 65 years old and over. That number is expected to grow to nearly six million by 2030.
"Seniors are losing their life savings every single day," Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said.
In certain cases, seniors – who are on dating sites – are scammed when the person on the other side asked for money or investments. The attorney general's office reported some victims were targeted in a romance-turned-investment scam, with victims found in six different Florida counties and as far as Massachusetts.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation warns those online of cryptocurrency fraud – coined "one of the most prevalent and damaging fraud schemes today" – saying that scammers are using social media, texting, dating sites, group chats and online advertisements to lure and contact victims.
"That old saying: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is," Uthmeier said.
Online scams throughout Central Florida
The backstory:
In a case in Marion County, a victim lost over $400,000 in a few weeks. Investigators with the Marion County Sheriff’s office followed the money into a "digital cold wallet," Uthmeier said.
In another case, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said a person gave $300,000 to a fraudster.
In Volusia County, last December, Robert Goodwin, 56, was arrested, after being extradited from California, for allegedly scamming students and their families out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for a promised trip to Europe.
In September, Seabreeze High School contracted Massachusetts travel agency, Stone and Compass Travel, to help facilitate a class trip to Europe. However, Volusia deputies say Goodwin allegedly defrauded more than 100 students, teachers, and chaperons after each paid more than $3,500 to the travel company for the trip.
Seabreeze High claims Goodwin was the main point of contact during the planning of their trip but allegedly stopped responding to their inquiries and pulled the plug on the trip.
What they're saying:
"It truly angers me that there are people in this world that have no problem making victims of citizens in our community," Woods said. "Many times these are senior citizens. Cyber scams and fraud may never go away but, in Marion County and in Florida, we will come after those who choose to do this. My detectives will keep hunting you down and the Attorney General’s office will continue to aggressively prosecute these thieves. Cyber scammers have no place in Florida except behind a cell door."
Uthmeier promised to get the money back and return money to the victims.
$5 million recovered from scams
In a case involving $5.4 million of cryptocurrency funds stolen from citizens in both Florida and Massachusetts, the money was recovered and will be returned in checks to affected citizens next month, Chief Assistant Statewide Prosecutor John Paul, in the Cyber Fraud Division, said. This is the largest amount of cryptocurrency that has ever been recovered in a single statewide operation, the attorney general's office said.
This comes after a "record breaking" first quarter in which $3.3 million was recovered from cyber criminals, Uthmeier's office said in a press release.
"Our approach is to help citizens disrupt these overseas criminal actors and then prosecute their state-side accomplices," – also known as mules – "and hold them accountable," Paul said.
What you can do:
If you think you may be a victim of cyber fraud, the FBI said to stop sending money and file a report at the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
Paul warned people to not act on impulse and to not buy into the fantasy.
"They use AI to create fake people, and it’s all just lies," he said.
For more information, visit the FBI's tips on cyber crimes.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from the office of Attorney General James Uthmeier.