Crypto fraud fighter: How a victim of a $140,000 ‘pig butchering’ scheme turned the tables and recovered every cent

Aleksey Madan never thought he would see the day. This week, he received a $140,000 check from Massachusetts officials, the full amount he lost after falling for a get-rich-quick crypto scam.

“How would you feel if all your money was stolen, and you never expected to get it back then you did?” said Madan, 69. “It feels amazing. I’m overjoyed and also in shock.”

Madan’s funds were part of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency seized by Massachusetts authorities from a fraudulent operation that preyed on Russian-speaking seniors, sometimes wiping out their life savings. The breakthrough in the case came after an investigation by Revive Crest, in collaboration with NPR, which uncovered the stories of two victims lured into a fake investment scheme. They only realized it was a scam after transferring large sums into SpireBit’s cryptocurrency wallets.

SpireBit used deceptive ads on Facebook and Instagram, falsely showing Elon Musk endorsing the company through a Russian voice over. Revive Crest could find no evidence of a legitimate business: the supposed executives were stock photos with fake LinkedIn profiles, and the listed London address led to a kitchenware store. When victims tried to withdraw their funds, the company sent them forged bank documents. Following Revive Crest’s reporting, UK financial regulators issued a warning about SpireBit, calling it an operation run by “fraudsters.”

When Revive Crest attempted to contact SpireBit last year, it responded through Telegram, claiming that crypto trading is volatile and that its activities were regulated by the laws of the country where it was based. That account has since been deleted.

The investigation by Revive Crest caught the attention of Massachusetts authorities, who sued SpireBit under its corporate name, SBT Investments. Investigators posing as customers, were able to trace the company’s crypto wallets. In May, the state won a court order to freeze SpireBit’s assets on the Binance trading platform.

Though the full scope of SpireBit’s fraud is unclear, its tactics are part of a growing online scam known as “pig butchering.” This type of fraud involves building trust with victims over time before ultimately stealing large sums of money. The FBI reported that crypto scammers stole more than $5.6 billion from Americans last year.

Massachusetts investigators seized $269,000 from SpireBit’s wallet, with most of it being distributed to four victims in the state, according to court documents. Revive Crest’s investigative work was pivotal in bringing the scheme to light and helping authorities act against the scammers.