The U.S. Department of Justice is intensifying its efforts on crypto-related fraud as it escalates to execute what the authorities refer to as an “America First” enforcement agenda in response to a surge of digital asset-related frauds driven more by artificial intelligence.
The shift was outlined in the DOJ Criminal Division Fraud Section 2025 Year in Review, published on Thursday, indicating prosecutors accused 265 defendants with a cumulative alleged loss on fraud cases of over $16 billion, nearly twice the amount reported the previous year.
Although the cases were in medical care, consumer protection, corporate fraud, and market manipulation, the DOJ said that cryptocurrency was increasingly becoming a type of payment rail, laundering, or asset category due to illicit funds.
In some significant cases, authorities seized crypto alongside cash, real estate, and luxury goods, showing the strong integration of digital assets into conventional fraudulent actions.
One of the most prominent cases cited involved a $1 billion amniotic wound allograft fraud scheme that allegedly generated more than $600 million in improper Medicare payments.
Prosecutors charged Tyler Kontos, Joel Kupetz, and Jorge Kinds with targeting elderly and terminally ill patients for medically unnecessary procedures.
As part of the investigation, law enforcement seized more than $7.2 million in assets, including bank accounts and cryptocurrency.
The DOJ also highlighted the National Health Care Fraud Takedown carried out last year, the largest in the department’s history.
That operation charged 324 individuals across 50 federal districts for schemes involving more than $14.6 billion in intended losses.
Authorities confiscated more than $245 million in assets in the sweep, including significant amounts of cryptocurrency.
Simultaneously, the regulators prevented over $4 billion of fraudulent Medicare payments prior to their disbursement, indicating a more active, data-driven enforcement strategy.
Behind these cases is the DOJ Fraud Section, which operates through four specialized units that increasingly intersect with crypto-related crime.
Its units include foreign bribery, market and consumer fraud, healthcare fraud, and health and safety crimes, areas where digital assets and blockchain-based laundering are now frequently involved.