Lake County Man Loses Nearly $200K in Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Scam

CLEVELAND - The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio has filed a civil complaint in forfeiture against seized cryptocurrency that was suspected of being obtained through fraud and costing a Lake County victim approximately $200,000 worth of his savings.

According to the allegations in court documents, a person using the alias "Jake Williams" made an unsolicited call to an Eastlake, Ohio, resident claiming to be a financial adviser and cryptocurrency trading expert. The fraudster gained the victim's trust using various means of manipulation. He convinced the victim to take about half a million dollars out of his retirement account, transfer some of that amount to a local bank, and then further transfer funds to Coinbase, which is a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States.

Once the funds were in the victim's Coinbase account, "Jake" further deceived the victim into giving him remote access to his laptop. From there, the fraudster logged into the victim's Coinbase account to transfer the funds to other cryptocurrency addresses that he controlled.

During the course of the scheme, the fraudster showed the victim a cryptocurrency wallet-that supposedly belonged to the victim-with a purported value of approximately $860,000, which included the supposed investment gains. When the victim requested to withdraw the funds, fraudster "Jake" said that it was not possible due to an IRS freeze on the account because the victim's accountant had not filed taxes since 2021. The victim subsequently filed a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) regarding the fraud loss which prompted the FBI Cleveland Division to open an investigation.

Based on a review of records and blockchain analysis, the FBI learned that from about Dec. 17, 2025, to March 31, 2026, approximately 60 transfers were made as a result of this scam. Investigators found that approximately $198,232.92 was transferred to other cryptocurrency accounts controlled by the fraudster. The victim never received a return of the stolen funds.

Of the approximate $198,232.92 loss, investigators were able to trace approximately 65,028.09 USDC cryptocurrency (approximately $65,028.09) to a cryptocurrency address on the Ethereum blockchain. USDC is a cryptocurrency issued by Circle Internet Financial and is known as a "stablecoin." Stablecoin is a type of blockchain-based currency that is tied to a fiat currency and exists on several third-party blockchains, including Ethereum. Circle seeks to peg USDC to the U.S. dollar at a 1:1 ratio.

On May 20, 2026, a federal seizure warrant was issued by a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the 65,028.09 USDC cryptocurrency and was served on Circle that same day. Circle then confirmed that the subject cryptocurrency address on the Ethereum blockchain was blocklisted to prevent inflow or outflow of USDC cryptocurrency.

The complaint in forfeiture was filed Nov. 9, 2026, against a total of 65,028.09 USDC cryptocurrency, valued at approximately $65,028.09. If successful in this forfeiture action, the United States would seek to return the stolen funds to the victim.

The claims asserted in the complaint are allegations only. The United States must prove the claims by a preponderance of evidence.

The FBI Cleveland Division is investigating this matter. The FBI has received additional fraud complaints through IC3 from other individuals who lost funds in similar fraud schemes to an individual named "Jake." To report suspected cryptocurrency fraud, visit IC3.gov or call 1-833-372-8311.

Assistant United States Attorney James L. Morford is handling the prosecution for the Northern District of Ohio.