BTC-e Account Holders in the Cryptocurrency Forfeiture Case

On June 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a sweeping civil asset forfeiture complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency and fiat funds connected to the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. The case is styled:

United States v. All Virtual Currency Held in the BTC-e Operating Wallets as of July 25, 2017, and Other Assets
Case No. 1:25-CV-02085 (D.D.C.)

The government’s complaint for forfeiture alleges that BTC-e operated as an unlicensed money transmitting business and participated in a money laundering conspiracy. The government’s authority for the forfeiture proceeding is found in 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(A), invoking 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(h) and 1960.

Attorney Leslie Sammis, the co-founder of Sammis Law Firm, P.A., was admitted pro hac vice to represent multiple account holders with large cryptocurrency balances seized from the BTC-e platform. On August 1, 2025, the Honorable Carl J. Nichols, U.S. District Judge, granted Leslie Sammis’ motion for pro hac vice admission under Local Civil Rule 83.2(c). Leslie Sammis then filed a Notice of Appearance under LCvR 83.6(a) on behalf of several individual claimants. On September 8, 2025, Leslie Sammis was sworn in as a member of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

For the BTC-e cases, attorney Leslie Sammis is co-counseling with two other attorneys focused on civil asset forfeiture law – David B. Smith, Esq., and Edward Burch, Esq.

The deadline for filing claims ran on September 2, 2025.