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Romance‑crypto victim urges stronger e‑wallet rules, law enforcement tools after six‑figure loss
Summary
A Connecticut resident described a romance‑investment cryptocurrency scam and urged lawmakers to strengthen e‑wallet regulation, expand criminal remedies and provide law‑enforcement tools to freeze and recover digital assets.
Jacqueline Crenshaw, a resident of East Haven, told the Banking Committee that a romance and cryptocurrency investment scam wiped out her life savings and left her facing the loss of her house.
Crenshaw described being contacted on an online dating platform in mid‑2023, transferring funds including retirement savings and proceeds from a remortgage into an Exodus digital wallet and receiving later bogus receipts showing account growth. A $100,000 check she said she received and deposited later proved to have originated from another victim; she said local police initially did not act and that state troopers subsequently investigated but she has not recovered funds.
Why it matters: Witnesses and committee members described a growing trend of cryptocurrency‑related scams that exploit remote payments and the anonymity of digital wallets. Witnesses urged stronger state statutes to define digital currency within penal code, authorize pre‑conviction seizure of suspect digital wallets and make prosecution and asset recovery easier.
Law‑enforcement capacity and tax consequences: Crenshaw said detective work has been conducted by a small number of state troopers who specialize in crypto fraud, and witnesses encouraged more resources for those units. Several committee members and witnesses also raised the tax consequences for victims who lose retirement funds to fraud and suggested exploring state‑level tax relief for documented victim losses.
Quotes: “The deregulation of e wallets in Connecticut has had a devastating impact on my life, both financially and emotionally,” Jacqueline Crenshaw said. “Please do all you can to help law enforcement help victims like me.”
Ending: Crenshaw urged the committee to add language from pending bills to define digital currency in the penal code and to enable pre‑conviction asset confiscation tied to wallet addresses; committee members thanked her for speaking publicly and discussed referrals to other committees for drafting criminal and forfeiture tools. No vote was taken.
