A man from Daytona Beach Shores fell victim to a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme that resulted in a loss of $317,000. The scheme was initiated when he received a text message from an attractive individual asking him to take care of her dog while she was away. Federal court documents reveal that the man, referred to as Victim 1, initially responded to inform her of a mistaken number. However, the engaging stranger persisted in the conversation, introducing herself as Astrid Orlov, who claimed to reside with her uncle in Lake Nona, a popular area in Orlando.
The dialogue quickly transitioned to the messaging platform WhatsApp, and eventually to a video chat, although the man was unable to see Orlov due to her claim of poor internet connectivity. While the nature of their exchanges remains unclear—whether purely friendly or romantic—the topic shifted to financial matters, specifically investments in gold and cryptocurrency. Orlov asserted that she had been successful in trading gold online, attributing her achievements to her uncle’s expertise in analyzing algorithms that predicted daily fluctuations in gold prices. This claim persuaded the man to invest in a trading platform called XM Defi.
Encouraged by Orlov, he transferred $5,000 from his bank account to a cryptocurrency account she created for him and subsequently purchased Bitcoin, which he sent to the address provided for XM Defi. According to federal court documents, “Orlov” guided Victim 1 on when to buy and sell assets on the platform to maximize his profits. Following his initial investment, he was able to view what he believed to be fictitious earnings on the XM Defi platform, leading him to withdraw approximately $278 in cryptocurrency to his Crypto.com account.
After what he perceived as a successful withdrawal, Victim 1 grew confident that, with Orlov’s assistance, he could make substantial profits from gold trading on the platform. Following her advice, he sent nearly $312,000 between February and May 2024, believing he was engaging in legitimate trades. “During this time, Victim 1 conducted ‘trades’ on the ‘XM Defi’ fraudulent website, and it appeared that his investment was consistently growing, with only minor losses on two trades,” court records indicate.
However, by April 2024, concerns began to arise as he noticed discrepancies in his XM Defi account balance. When he reached out to Orlov regarding his concerns, she reassured him that everything was fine, even providing a picture of her Florida driver’s license as proof of her identity. Federal authorities later confirmed that the license was counterfeit, as no record existed under her name.
The man finally recognized he had been scammed when he was unable to withdraw any funds from XM Defi. He was not the only victim; federal investigators reported that at least 16 individuals collectively lost over $4 million after receiving seemingly innocent messages from strangers who appeared to take a genuine interest in them. Aside from Astrid Orlov, other aliases included Jenny, Raphaela, Nina, Katie, and Hui. “The scammers utilized images of attractive individuals to create a deceptive persona, often sharing pictures of food, scenery, and pets to build rapport with the victims,” the federal court records noted. “After establishing a connection, the scammers would discuss their profitable cryptocurrency investments, ultimately convincing the victims to invest their money with promises of high returns.”
The victims were led to fake investment websites that were designed to look legitimate and resembled real financial institutions, further deceiving them. “They encountered pages that reflected their deposited funds and believed they were investing in a credible cryptocurrency trading platform, under the impression they could later withdraw their initial investments along with any profits,” federal officials stated in court documents.
One unidentified victim reportedly lost as much as $1.2 million. In response to the rising fraud cases, the federal government filed a civil forfeiture complaint this week in U.S. District Court after seizing $4.1 million from an unhosted virtual currency address on the Ethereum blockchain in July. The assets are currently under the custody of the United States Secret Service, as indicated in the court records. “While cryptocurrencies have numerous legitimate applications,” the federal government remarked, “they can also be exploited for illegal activities and money laundering, particularly due to the high level of anonymity associated with these digital assets.”
