Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced today that his office has successfully recovered an international electronic wallet and will return funds to a Kansas victim of a cryptocurrency investment scam. This marks one of the state's first successful civil actions against an international internet scammer.
A Kansas resident filed a consumer complaint with the Attorney General's office, alleging she was promised substantial returns in exchange for investing in cryptocurrency. Investigators discovered that Bimbo Toyin Akinyemi, of Nigeria, had defrauded the victim. The Charities and Financial Scams unit of the Attorney General's office subsequently filed a lawsuit against Akinyemi under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.
After Akinyemi failed to respond to the lawsuit, the district court ordered full restitution and assessed penalties against him. This order enabled the Attorney General's office to seize Akinyemi's digital wallet, which contained half of a Bitcoin valued at over $28,900 and other digital currency worth more than $4,000.
"Cryptocurrency is a borderless asset that allows international scammers to target and defraud Kansans from the comfort of a keyboard," said First Assistant Attorney General Nathanial Castillo. "Scammers realize they have a better chance at getting away with fraud if they convince victims to send cryptocurrency. Kansans should always thoroughly scrutinize anyone they meet online before sending payment in cryptocurrency."
The U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI assisted in the investigation conducted by the Attorney General's office.
###