US Seizes BG Wealth Site, Freezes $41M Linked to Ponzi

U.S. authorities have seized the BG Wealth Sharing domain and frozen about $41 million after investigators traced a large flow of crypto linked to an alleged $150 million Ponzi scheme. The action followed on-chain tracing that identified attempts to move more than $92 million in crypto between April 27 and the end of last week.

Law enforcement worked with private-sector partners, including a stablecoin issuer and major exchanges, to block and freeze funds connected to the operation. On its website, BG Wealth Sharing now displays a notice that the domain was seized as part of a joint operation involving Operation Level Up and the Scam Center Strike Force.

Regulators had flagged BG Wealth Sharing as unlicensed and urged caution since 2025. The Central Bank of Samoa advised investors in April to avoid the firm and called it an investment scam. The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions said it had received investor complaints and warned that requiring additional external deposits to withdraw investments is likely an advance fee scam.

BG Wealth Sharing promoted itself on social media as a crypto trading guidance service. It offered daily profit opportunities, referral commissions, rank-based bonuses and advertised daily yields of 1.3% to 2.6%. Users reported that the platform encouraged deposits and that returns were tied to account rank and recruitment of new members.

A video posted before the platform went offline featured a man observers identified as Stephen Beard. The video stated that the company’s DSJ Exchange was preparing for an initial public offering and that a 12% tax on account balances was required for regulatory purposes. Within days of that posting, customers reported they could not withdraw funds and described the site’s disappearance as a rug pull.

On-chain investigator ZachXBT reported that “illicit actors” tied to BG Wealth Sharing tried to launder more than $92 million and credited the coordinated effort with freezing over $41 million after working with exchanges, a stablecoin issuer and U.S. law enforcement. ZachXBT also wrote that such schemes often target unsophisticated retail investors via social media and that many victims initially disputed they had been scammed.

The FBI has reported large losses to cyber-enabled crime in recent reporting, noting that U.S. victims lost $21 billion last year, with crypto investment scams accounting for a substantial portion. On-chain tracing in the BG Wealth case linked numerous exchange withdrawals and transfers to addresses associated with the operation, which allowed firms and authorities to block further laundering.

Investigations are ongoing. Authorities and the private partners who assisted in tracing funds have not released a full list of seized addresses or detailed plans for recovering and returning assets to victims. Regulators continue to advise people to report high-yield crypto offers that require upfront deposits, recruitment or extra fees to state or federal authorities.