How a Brooklyn crypto cop took down a global scam network

As crypto use has become more widespread, the global crypto fraud economy has exploded in size By the time Alona Katz hurried home from her office in downtown Brooklyn late on Oct 6, the trap was already set. After months of planning, the chief of Brooklyn’s crypto fraud unit was about to orchestrate one of the most sweeping international crackdowns a local prosecutor’s office had ever attempted. The operation, which took place across three time zones, was the culmination of a chase Katz had begun almost as soon as she was appointed chief of Brooklyn District Attorney’s Virtual Currency Unit three years ago.At 2am, dozens of servers that Katz’s team had targeted started going down. She would get no sleep that night.As crypto use has become more widespread, the global crypto fraud economy has exploded in size. In 2025, reported US losses from cryptocurrency fraud reached $11.4 billion, roughly triple from three years earlier, according to the FBI.Before the Brooklyn DA opened the VCU office, victims who sought help from the New York Police Dept were often told to go elsewhere because the NYPD didn’t understand the scams, Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn District Attorney, said in an inte...