By Courtney Rozen
WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will highlight his administration’s efforts on Wednesday to crack down on foreign criminal networks that lure Americans into fraudulent crypto investments, a White House official told Reuters, as part of a broader event about cyber crime prevention.
Speaking at a White House event, Trump and members of his cabinet are expected to highlight the government's seizure of fraudulent crypto investment websites and efforts to stop online
impersonation scams, the official said.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, FBI Director Kash Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Todd Blanche are expected to attend, the official added.
Americans filed more than a million complaints with the FBI about internet scams last year, a 17% increase from 2024, according to an agency report, which also noted that Americans who filed complaints reported the highest losses.
Trump's own family is heavily involved in soliciting investments in crypto.
A Reuters investigation found the US president and his sons have added at least $2.3 billion to the family fortune from their main crypto ventures, while the investors they've wooed have taken a $2.3 billion hit.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly in a statement to Reuters about its investigation said, "All actions by President Trump and his administration are taken in the best interest of the American people.”
Trump in October 2025 pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. Zhao quit his job after the company pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.
Trump in a March executive order directed the Justice Department to prioritize identifying and prosecuting scammers who carry out crimes online. He later directed the Department of Homeland Security to work with private companies to surveil foreign criminal hacking groups.
(Reporting by Courtney Rozen; Editing by Jonathan Spicer )
