Fake Investment Platform Fraud

  • WARNING - Beware of scammers posing as Berg PC attorneys. Berg PC does not communicate through Signal, WhatsApp, or Social Media. Never wire funds to anyone posing as Berg PC.

Fake Crypto Exchange & Investment Platform Fraud Lawyers in Houston, Texas

Berg PC helps individuals who lost funds on a fraudulent crypto trading platform trace stolen assets, pursue court-ordered freezes, and work to recover what was taken.

You found a platform that looked real. The interface was professional, and your account showed gains. Then, when you tried to take your money out, barriers started appearing: fees, holds, verification requirements, or taxes that weren’t disclosed and kept increasing. By the time the platform disappeared or your account was locked, the funds were gone.

Recovery may be possible. The blockchain records where your funds went, and those records are permanent. It’s important to act before the trail goes cold and stolen assets move beyond the reach of a court order.

Tell Us About Your Case

How Platform Fraud Works

Fraudulent crypto investment platforms are built to deceive at every step.

Most are cloned from legitimate exchanges and have the same layout, similar branding, and a near-identical domain name. Some victims arrive through a social media ad promising high returns or featuring a celebrity endorsement. Others are introduced to the platform by someone they’ve been talking to online who frames it as personal investment advice. Some find the platform through search and are attracted by promises of returns that legitimate markets don’t offer.

The early experience is designed to build confidence. When you deposit funds, the dashboard shows your balance growing. Customer support is responsive, and your requests to withdraw small amounts may be successful. The setup is designed to lower your guard to encourage you to make larger deposits.

Then the exit is blocked. A withdrawal attempt generates a requirement: a tax payment, an insurance deposit, or a compliance verification fee. You pay. Suddenly there’s another new and previously undisclosed requirement you must satisfy before you can complete your withdrawal. The customer support you previously spoke to goes silent or turns hostile when you reach out to them for help. Eventually the platform disappears, the domain goes dark, and your funds are gone.

The platform was never real. The gains you saw were numbers on a screen designed to make you believe your investments were succeeding. The fees you paid to unlock your account went directly to the people who built it.

What are the Warning Signs?

These are the patterns that define fraudulent crypto platforms. Some will be obvious in retrospect, but others are designed to be invisible until after the loss:

  • The platform was accessible only through a link, not any app store
  • Returns were advertised at rates no legitimate investment consistently produces
  • The platform featured celebrity endorsements or news coverage that felt slightly off or couldn’t be verified
  • Early withdrawals worked, but attempts to withdraw larger amounts were blocked
  • Every blocked withdrawal triggered a new fee or deposit requirement
  • Customer support could resolve every problem except actually returning your money
  • The company had no verifiable physical address, regulatory registration, or auditable history
  • Your account was credited with “profits” you never authorized a trade to generate

If you’re still on a platform and something feels wrong, do not send additional funds. The fees will not release your money.

How Berg PC Approaches Recovery

Most firms that encounter crypto fraud send a demand letter to an entity that no longer exists. Berg PC takes a different approach.

We work with a network of former military and U.S. intelligence officials with careers in financial crime investigation to trace the wallets where your funds were sent. Blockchain transactions are permanent and public. The money moved somewhere, and with the right tools, the path can be followed.

Once funds are traced, we pursue court orders compelling exchanges and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to freeze associated wallets and preserve records. In 2024, Berg PC obtained injunctions freezing 30 wallets of stolen crypto in a single matter, the first order of its kind in Texas. Courts are increasingly willing to act on well-documented crypto fraud claims when lawyers bring them the right way.

With very few exceptions, we represent crypto scam victims on a contingency basis. We are paid with a portion of any recovery. In those matters, we do not ask for payment of any fees or expenses up front. If there is NO RECOVERY, there is NO FEE.

What Recovery Can Look Like

Crypto recovery is hard. The people who built the platform that defrauded you are often overseas, operating through layers of shell structures and anonymous wallets. We will not tell you recovery is easy or certain.

We work to trace your funds through the blockchain to identify where recoverable assets currently sit, obtain court orders to freeze those wallets, and compel exchanges that hold stolen assets to cooperate with recovery proceedings. In some cases, regulatory bodies and law enforcement become involved once a court action establishes the facts.

In 2025, Berg PC recovered nearly $500,000 in stolen Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrency for a Texas family. The specifics of every case differ. What consistently improves outcomes is early action, before assets are converted, dispersed, or moved to jurisdictions where U.S. court orders lose their reach.

Use the intake form below to tell us what happened. A member of our team will review your submission and let you know whether your situation is a fit for the firm.

Why Choose Berg PC

Geoff Berg has spent more than 30 years trying complex commercial and financial cases in Texas and in courts across the country. Best Lawyers in America® has recognized him for Commercial Litigation for 10 consecutive years.

Berg PC built its crypto recovery practice around the courtroom because that is the only mechanism with real power to freeze assets and compel cooperation. A demand letter to a scam platform goes nowhere. A court order to an exchange does not.

It’s important to know that the scam doesn’t always end after you lose your crypto. People are frequently contacted by scammers posing as recovery experts or law firms that promise to get their money back for an upfront fee. These are secondary scams targeting the same victims. You can verify Berg PC is a licensed Texas law firm at texasbar.com. Berg PC does not communicate through Signal. WhatsApp, or Social Media. Never wire funds to anyone posing as Berg PC.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. but recovery depends on tracing where the funds went, how quickly a court order can freeze them, and whether the exchanges holding the assets cooperate. There’s no guaranteed outcome, but taking action early improves the odds significantly.

With very few exceptions, we represent crypto scam victims on a contingency basis. We are paid with a portion of any recovery. In those matters, we do not ask for payment of any fees or expenses up front. If there is NO RECOVERY, there is NO FEE.

Many are. Cross-border recovery is harder but not impossible. Court orders can still reach the US-based or US-regulated exchanges where stolen funds often pass through, even when the operators themselves are abroad.

Yes. Filing a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) doesn’t cost anything and creates an official record separate from any civil case Berg PC may pursue on your behalf.

It varies by case. Tracing and emergency freeze orders can happen within weeks, but a full recovery through litigation or a negotiated settlement typically takes longer. The timeline depends heavily on where the funds moved and how quickly you report the scam.

Contact a Fake Crypto Exchange & Investment Platform Fraud Attorney in Houston, Texas

Berg PC is committed to fighting fake crypto exchange and investment platform fraud and protecting your digital assets.

Should the firm take on your case, Geoff Berg and our lawyers will do everything they can to reclaim what is rightfully yours.

We offer initial consultations at no charge.

Please contact us for a preliminary evaluation. After reviewing your case diligently, we will be in touch with next steps.

Geoffrey Berg

Tell Us About Your Case

Tell Us About Your Case

General Contact Disclaimer
If you have been the victim of a cryptocurrency scam, we understand now may be the worst time of your life.

Please know, however, that we are unable to take any action or provide guidance of any kind unless and until a full investigation has been conducted, which can only be done by filling out the form that follows.

Please Do Not Call or Email Our Office

Once the form is completed, it will be placed in the queue. If this is an emergency, dial 911. If you are having a mental health crisis, which is extremely common in this situation, please contact a mental health professional.
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