Judge orders return of cryptocurrency to Dunn County victim; no criminal charges filed yet

The District Attorney told the Dunn County Judicial and Law Committee that a judge ordered cryptocurrency assets returned to a Dunn County resident in the county's first civil asset matter involving cryptocurrency.

The prosecutor described prolonged investigative work, including search warrants and digital tracing handled by the sheriff's office, saying the sheriffs investigators "froze those assets from the cryptocurrency company and then did some back tracing." The DA credited "Sergeant Stocker" and an investigator named "Gates" for their work on the matter. The judge ordered the assets returned to the victim; the hearing was short because no outside parties appeared.

The DA said county investigators did not have sufficient information to file criminal charges at this time, and that international companies often do not provide requested information within the timelines set by warrants. "We were able to return some of the funds. Bad news is we didn't have enough information to file criminal charges," the DA said. Law enforcement will continue to investigate.

Committee members reacted positively to the return of funds and were informed that additional investigative work is ongoing.