FBI Seizes $260,000 in Crypto Assets with Help from Crypto Detective ZachXBT

The FBI has seized cryptocurrencies and luxury goods worth $260,000 from fraudster Chase Senecal, known as Horror (HZ), according to a document dated February 4.

The agency stated that it seized two NFTs, Bored Ape 9658 and Doodle 3114, valued at $104,856 and $116,433, respectively. The American agency also seized an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch worth $41,000. The operation was carried out on October 24, 2022.

How did ZachXBT help the FBI?

The FBI relied on the investigation of well-known anonymous on-chain detective ZachXBT to locate the fraudster, who is allegedly responsible for numerous attacks on several NFT projects.

Additionally, HZ and other fraudsters also targeted Discord servers of several projects such as Anata, Lacoste, BAYC Otherside, 333 Club, among others.

ZachXBT tracked HZ after he posted a picture of the Audemars Piguet watch on Twitter, revealing a crypto address linked to the fraudster, disclosing that he paid $47,500 for the watch.

On February 3, ZachXBT stated that he was ‘very happy’ that his investigation helped the authorities.

Authorities Intensify Crypto Oversight

U.S. federal agencies, such as the FBI, have recently increased scrutiny over the crypto space. Just in January 2023, authorities made progress in their investigations into the collapsed crypto empire of Sam Bankman-Fried and Mango Markets hacker Avraham Eisenberg.

Recently, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam promised to initiate more enforcement actions against non-compliant crypto projects. This is also the stance of the sister agency, the SEC, which has repeatedly urged crypto companies to register with it. The SEC is also currently involved in a lawsuit against Ripple.

The Rise of Fake NFT Projects

Another crypto investigator, Coffezilla, revealed that he paid MMA fighter Dillon Danis $1,000 to promote a fake NFT project. Danis did not inform his followers that he was paid for the promotion, nor did he conduct any due diligence on the project.