In a significant crackdown, law enforcement in the UK has apprehended two individuals for orchestrating a cryptocurrency scam amounting to £5.7 million (approximately $7.125 million) across global victims.

The culprits, identified as James Heppel, aged 42, hailing from Staverton in Wiltshire, and Jake Lee, aged 38, residing in Charlcombe, Bath, face charges of three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud.

Operating through a counterfeit version of the renowned cryptocurrency exchange, Blockchain.com, the accused duo managed to deceive unsuspecting cryptocurrency investors. Victims fell prey to the scam when accessing the fraudulent website, leading to the illicit extraction of their cryptocurrency holdings utilizing pilfered login credentials.

The scheme, meticulously executed, ensnared 55 victims spanning 26 countries, including 11 from the UK, as meticulously detailed by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU).

The investigation was catalyzed by Lee's arrest by the Avon and Somerset Police on suspicion of money laundering. Subsequent scrutiny of the perpetrator yielded significant evidence, including three Bitcoin wallet recovery seeds, three digital devices, and £24,000 in cash.

Concurrently, the SWROCU initiated probes into a separate crypto scam, which involved the misappropriation of £11,000 worth of Bitcoin from a resident in Wiltshire. Analysis of electronic devices recovered from Lee substantiated the link between the two fraudulent enterprises.

Both Lee and Heppel have entered guilty pleas, with Lee facing a four-year incarceration term, while Heppel has been sentenced to 15 months behind bars. Additionally, a confiscation order for £1 million has been levied against Lee.

"This was a complex and protracted prosecution that necessitated collaboration with numerous victims and law enforcement agencies globally," remarked Pamela Jain, a prosecutor affiliated with the Serious Economic Organised Crime International Directorate of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Significant assets, including cryptocurrency amounting to £64,000, £835,000 in cash, three vehicles, and a print of Banksy's renowned artwork 'Bomb Love' valued at £60,000, have been successfully recovered thus far.

The incident underscores the escalating prevalence of cryptocurrency scams in the UK. In a cautionary measure issued in January 2024, authorities warned against Coscoin, an AI-driven quantitative trading platform suspected of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme.

According to a report from TRM Labs released in March, UK residents have incurred average losses of £15,000 to various crypto scams since October 2022, encompassing fraudulent investment schemes, phishing scams, and unconventional swindles like pig butchering scams.