Romance and investment fraud. It started as a relationship. It ended as an investment you cannot withdraw.
Legal review and in-house blockchain investigation for people drawn into a cryptocurrency investment through an online relationship.
From relationship to investment
A dating-app match, social-media message, or wrong-number text turns into weeks of conversation. Eventually, the person introduces a cryptocurrency investment. A small withdrawal may work at first. After larger deposits, withdrawals stop, and demands for taxes or fees begin.
Confidential Case Review
Tell us what happened.
We will review your information and follow up with next steps.
The review is free and confidential, and you speak with the attorney. Any further work and fees are addressed separately.
Do not send passwords, seed phrases, private keys, or authentication codes. No attorney-client relationship is created by submitting an inquiry.
The firm reviews matters involving losses of $75,000 or more.
For general inquiries: info@ambarbara.com
How trust becomes part of the investment
The contact may have moved the conversation to WhatsApp or Telegram, shared apparent trading results, or introduced someone described as an adviser. The platform may have allowed a small withdrawal before requesting larger deposits.
These details warrant closer review when combined with a false identity, an unverifiable platform, or demands for additional payments to release a balance. The records may not establish whether the person communicating with you operated the platform or worked with someone else.
The FBI describes relationship-based cryptocurrency investment schemes in its reporting guidance. For more detail, see pig-butchering scams: how the money moves.
How the firm can help
The first step is to review the circumstances, available evidence, and any deadlines. A bank transfer, an exchange restriction, or a government notice may require attention before a detailed blockchain investigation is completed.
Where tracing is useful, the firm performs it in house under attorney direction. The analysis may identify services along the transfer path and records needed to investigate further. Communications, account records, and legal process may be necessary to establish attribution.
Depending on the facts, representation after cryptocurrency fraud may involve evaluating claims, requesting preservation of records, preparing a law-enforcement submission, or assessing eligibility in a forfeiture proceeding. The firm does not control whether an agency opens an investigation or whether assets become available.
What to keep
Save the full chat history, contact details, dates, payment instructions, platform address, and screenshots of deposit and withdrawal history. Retain bank and exchange statements, wallet addresses, and transaction hashes where available.
State separately how much you transferred, how much you received back, and what balance the platform displayed. Include any later payments for supposed taxes, fees, or recovery help. If you suspect fraud, stop sending further payments and preserve the evidence already available; you do not need an admission from the other person before seeking advice.
Practical limits
A trace does not establish that money can be recovered. Even where a service or account is identified, access to records, jurisdiction, available assets, and legal costs remain part of the assessment. Further work is considered against those practical limits.