Pleasant Hill police recover $350k stolen in crypto scam

PLEASANT HILL — Police recovered $350,000 that was stolen from a woman in a cryptocurrency scam after three years of investigation, authorities said.

The money was stolen after an unknown person posing as a man targeted a 70-year-old woman and convinced her to invest her life savings into an online crypto investment scam, according to a press release sent Monday by the Pleasant Hill Police Department. The victim reported the scam in March 2022.

In the investigation, Detective Stephen Vuong worked with the United States Secret Service and tracked most of the victim’s money to an online wallet, authorities said. The wallet was inactive until September 2025, when Vuong froze the account and siezed the funds once it became active again.

Authorities returned the funds to the victim on Dec. 30.

“This is an excellent example of good policework yielding a very positive outcome,” said Police Chief Scott Vermillion in the press release. “We are happy to be able to return these funds to the victim, and I congratulate Detective Vuong on the outstanding work he put into this case.”

Any victims of similar scams should contact PHPD’s non-emergency line at 925-288-4600.