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The task force learned of a complaint from a New Haven County resident in Milford in September 2022 regarding larceny by false pretenses, the state police said.
The larceny resulted in the loss of $41,150 when the victim was scammed into depositing the money into a series of Bitcoin ATM machines, state police added.
The incident was also reported to the Milford Police Department, and it was determined that the task force would assume the investigation.
The funds were traced to two major cryptocurrency exchanges located in both the US and the Cayman Islands. During the month of September, task force investigators were able to recover a portion of the Bitcoin from the two exchanges, police said.
Investigators learned that the suspects reside outside of the country and no arrest is anticipated at this time, state police said.
The seized funds, amounting to $23,000 were returned to the victim on Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, as a result of a successful restitution action before the Milford Superior Court.
State police said scams involving cryptocurrency are on the rise and are becoming increasingly more sophisticated.
"While it is possible for law enforcement to investigate these cases and possibly make a recovery, time is of the essence. If you believe that you are the victim of a scam, make a report to your local police department or local State Police troop as soon as possible," the department said.
Residents can also file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, at www.consumerfinance.gov.
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