United States charges six over cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme

Federal authorities in the United States have announced charges against six individuals accused of targeting Americans through cryptocurrency investment schemes, The Economic Times reported. The U.S. Department of Justice charged the suspects with running non-fungible token investment fraud operations from scam compounds located in Madagascar. The publication reported that the network is linked to criminal operations across Africa and connected to China. [1]

The charges follow previous law enforcement operations targeting cryptocurrency and online fraud networks in West Africa. As FTMQ Security reported earlier, Ghanaian authorities raided an online scam centre in Sasaabi on 14 October 2026, arresting 19 individuals and seizing 303 electronic devices. Investigators identified 89 fraud victims who lost an estimated 8.3 million dollars, alongside 117 human trafficking victims awaiting repatriation to Nigeria. [5][6]

Meta also removed more than 3.7 million accounts, pages, and groups across Facebook and Instagram following a joint international operation targeting West African scam networks, as FTMQ Security reported earlier. That crackdown focused on criminal syndicates operating in Nigeria and Ghana, resulting in 28 arrests. [5]