US Government Targets $42,000 in Bitcoin Linked to Fraud Scheme

On Friday, April 3, 2026, the United States government filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico seeking to seize approximately 0.64516831 Bitcoin, valued at around $42,000, held in a KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange account. The account belongs to Ashraf Ali Mohd.

The government’s complaint alleges that cryptocurrency represents proceeds from wire fraud violations and money laundering activities. These violations fall under 18 U.S.C.S. § 1343 and 18 U.S.C.S. §§ 1956 and 1957, making the assets subject to forfeiture under 18 U.S.C.S. § 981(a)(1)(A) and (C).

The case originates from a 2022 incident where a New Mexico resident, identified as D.D., was defrauded of over $100,000. Scammers impersonated representatives from Amazon, U.S. Bank, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Treasury Department. They convinced D.D. to withdraw funds and deposit cash into cryptocurrency ATMs located in Santa Fe.

The FBI traced the victim’s cryptocurrency deposits through QR codes to a specific wallet address, which then led to accounts on the Coinbase and KuCoin exchanges. KuCoin records identified the account holder as Ashraf Ali Mohd from Mumbai, India. The account received approximately 214 cryptocurrency deposits over five months in 2022, including significant amounts of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and USDT. There were also 134 withdrawals totaling substantial sums.

Further investigation by the FBI into the associated email address revealed connections to numerous other email addresses and phone numbers. The FBI also identified at least one additional victim who sent funds to the same Bitcoin address. An FBI agent stated that the activity aligns with common tactics used by cybercriminals to launder illicit proceeds.

The government is pursuing the forfeiture of the remaining Bitcoin, asserting that the account was used to conceal the nature, source, location, custody, and control of wire fraud proceeds.

Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.