Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that his White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit seized and returned cryptocurrency to elderly fraud victims in Oconee County.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation of this case and coordinated with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the AG’s White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit to trace the stolen crypto and return it to the victims.
What did the investigation reveal? The victims in this case were persuaded to contact the perpetrator after a pop-up notification claimed that their bank accounts had been breached.
The perpetrator then claimed to be from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and instructed them to withdraw funds from their bank and deposit them into a cryptocurrency kiosk.
What key figures had to say:
- AG Chris Carr: “Our White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit is on the forefront of this fight – disrupting crypto scams, tracing transactions and recovering stolen funds. Unfortunately, scammers often target older adults, and we’re determined to do whatever it takes to protect their livelihoods. These are complex investigations that wouldn’t be possible without strong partnerships, and we’re proud to work with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and the GBI to achieve this latest outcome.”
- Oconee County Sheriff James A. Hale, Jr: “It is far too often that our most vulnerable citizens get taken advantage of in these kinds of cases with no justice served for them. I believe that this case will help establish best practices to prosecute suspects and recover funds that were fraudulently taken for all future cases of this kind. The countless hours of work and the partnerships forged will also assist in the outcome of future cases. Job well done by all!”
Further Context: On July 1, 2026, Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) signed HB 945 into law to create several financial exploitation protections, including a provision that virtual cryptocurrency kiosks display a warning that states:
- LOSSES DUE TO FRAUDULENT OR ACCIDENTAL TRANSACTIONS MAY NOT BE RECOVERABLE, AND TRANSACTIONS IN VIRTUAL CURRENCY ARE IRREVERSIBLE.
