Cryptocurrency Fraud: ED Attaches The Assets Of Indian Convicted In The US For Stealing Money Through Fake Websites

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 42.8 crore linked to an Indian Chirag Tomar. He is currently serving a 60-month prison term in the United States of America (USA) for a $20 million cryptocurrency fraud, his family and associated entities in Delhi, the agency said on August 05, 2025, Tuesday. The Enforcement Directorate said that it launched an investigation after learning that Chirag Tomar was arrested in the US for stealing over $20 million by using fake or spoofed websites and mimicking the cryptocurrency exchange website Coinbase. According to the ED, Chirag would mimic the trusted websites in such a way by search engine optimization that when they were searched, the spoofed one would appear at the top, according to Hindustan Times. 

What are the different types of cryptocurrency frauds?

The Investopedia says that a cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency secured by cryptography. This makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Most cryptocurrencies exist on decentralized networks using blockchain technology. It is a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers. Instant transactions is one of the features of Cryptocurrency that makes it prone to many frauds as well. 
Some of the scams associated with cryptocurrency according to constantinecanon.com- 

Scam Initial Coin Offerings

Initial coin offering or the ICO is the first offering of a particular cryptocurrency for sale. This offering can become a means of targeting the people who don’t know much about digital currencies. Many ICO’s are fully fabricated with phony bios of non-existent team members. 

Pump and Dump Schemes

The scammers can get a new variation of the pump and dump scheme. Under this scheme, the owners of a stock try to drive the price up before selling off their holdings at an artificial peak. This is common at the ICO stage in the crypto world. 

Also read: CBI Busts International Cyber Fraud Racket In Pune–Mumbai, Arrests Three