Overview

• The Department of Justice filed a civil complaint on July 24 seeking forfeiture of 20.2891382 Bitcoin valued at about $2.3 million and tied to an alleged member of the Chaos ransomware group.
• The FBI’s Dallas division seized the cryptocurrency on April 15, 2025, using a recovery seed phrase to access an Electrum wallet controlled by an individual known as “Hors.”
• Federal prosecutors allege the funds represent proceeds of money laundering and extortion from ransomware attacks orchestrated by Chaos, which offers cross-platform malware since at least February.
• The seized Bitcoin remains in a government-controlled Electrum wallet as civil litigation continues in the Northern District of Texas.
• The action underscores growing interagency and public-private collaboration, including DOJ partnerships with the FBI and blockchain firms, to disrupt evolving ransomware-as-a-service operations.