TORONTO — A Toronto resident who lost $355,000 in a romance cryptocurrency scam has successfully recovered $225,000 following a three-year international investigation, according to Toronto police.
The fraud began in June 2021 when the victim reportedly started an online relationship with a man named “Moshe Theodor McNigh” through Facebook. Over time, the suspect allegedly convinced the victim to invest in cryptocurrency via the website Legacyfxtraders.online.
In the fall of 2021, Nigerian law enforcement informed the victim that they had been defrauded in the cryptocurrency scheme and arrested a man linked to the fraud. The Nigerian authorities seized the fraudulent proceeds, some of which were identified as belonging to the Toronto resident. Nigerian courts later ordered the funds to be returned to the victim.
This recovery followed a multi-unit investigation involving the Toronto Police, Ontario Provincial Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, over 50% of the $309 million in reported investment fraud losses in 2023 were connected to cryptocurrency investment schemes, with only a small percentage of victims reporting such fraud.
