Ohio man and Arizona woman lose $500,000 and $63,000 to cryptocurrency romance scams via LinkedIn and Coffee Meets Bagel

Summary

Two victims—one in Ohio and one in Arizona—fell for cryptocurrency romance scams in 2024, losing a combined total of over $643,000. The Ohio victim met a scammer named “Kristina Tian” through LinkedIn in July 2024, and after building trust, lost $500,000 from his Kraken account. The Arizona victim met her scammer on the Coffee Meets Bagel dating app and lost $63,000, including $15,000 from her 401(k) and $48,000 from a home equity loan. Federal authorities filed to seize 679,981.22 Tether (USDT) linked to the scams, tracing stolen funds across the Tron blockchain. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio are pursuing civil forfeiture to recover the funds, which would be returned to the victims if successful.