Florida’s Volusia County Sheriff’s Office was required to return cryptocurrency and cover legal costs after a seizure that lacked proper legal steps.
The case, reported by Attorney Leslie Sammis of Sammis Law, involved an EU-registered brokerage that had its Kraken
$516.58M
Authorities from Wisconsin and Florida had traced a $20,000 fraud to the firm’s wallet. Although the company worked with both states during the investigation, its crypto, worth over $450,000 at the time, was locked without warning.
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On April 9, Volusia County obtained a sealed warrant ordering Kraken to transfer 1.19 BTC
Wisconsin also issued a separate order for 0.93 BTC but could not process crypto on its own. Instead, it relied on Florida to sell the Bitcoin and forward a check for $95,030.59.
However, Sammis later found that the Florida warrant had major flaws. It had no case number, was never filed with a court, and did not include supporting documents. Using blockchain analysis tools, she also found no link between the client’s wallet and the fraud in question.
Sammis later convinced Volusia County officials to reverse their actions. The sheriff’s office returned the remaining cryptocurrency, got back the check sent to Wisconsin, and agreed to pay the brokerage’s legal fees.
The scam that triggered the investigation began when fraudsters posed as the “Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System” and sent fake asset seizure notices.
Meanwhile, a German man accused of taking $2.9 million (€2.5 million) worth of cryptocurrency has avoided criminal charges. How? Read the full story.
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