Members of the U.S. authorities are investigating allegations that tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in cryptocurrency seized by legislation enforcement have been stolen by way of insider entry through a federal contractor, in accordance with public statements from officers.
The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) confirmed to CoinDesk that it’s investigating claims that greater than $40 million in confiscated digital property were siphoned from government-linked wallets.
The allegations middle on Command Companies & Help (CMDSS), a Virginia-based know-how agency contracted by the USMS to handle and eliminate sure classes of seized cryptocurrency.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT alleged that John “Lick” Daghita — the son of CMDSS president and chief govt Dean Daghita — gained unauthorized entry to crypto wallets holding government-seized digital property and diverted funds for private use.
ZachXBT mentioned he reported the alleged exercise to authorities and linked a number of pockets addresses to property managed by or related to the USMS.
Brady McCarron, chief of public affairs for the USMS, informed CoinDesk that the company couldn’t remark additional on the case as a result of investigations have been underway.
Particulars of the digital asset theft fraud
The allegations first surfaced after a dispute in a personal Telegram chat was recorded and later circulated on-line. In accordance with ZachXBT, the person recognized as “Lick” appeared to screen-share a pockets holding thousands and thousands of {dollars} in cryptocurrency and demonstrated the flexibility to maneuver funds in actual time.
Subsequent on-chain evaluation linked these wallets to addresses recognized to carry government-seized property, together with funds related to prior high-profile legislation enforcement seizures.
“Meet the risk actor John (Lick), who was caught flexing $23M in a pockets tackle straight tied to $90M+ in suspected thefts from the US Authorities in 2024 and a number of different unidentified victims from Nov 2025 to Dec 2025,” ZachXBT wrote on X over the weekend.
ZachXBT later recognized the person as John Daghita, alleging that he’s the son of CMDSS’s president and that CMDSS at the moment holds an energetic federal IT contract.
CMDSS was awarded a contract in October 2024 to help the USMS in managing and disposing of seized and forfeited digital property, together with crypto not supported by main exchanges and property tied to complicated prison instances.
These crypto property reportedly include funds seized from the 2016 Bitfinex hack, one of many largest cryptocurrency thefts on document.
ZachXBT has mentioned it stays unclear how John Daghita allegedly obtained entry to the wallets, together with whether or not that entry was facilitated by way of his father or CMDSS’s inner programs.
In accordance with ZachXBT, one pockets he attributed to Daghita held 12,540 ether — value roughly $36 million at latest costs. He additionally alleged that Daghita despatched him 0.6767 ETH, which the investigator mentioned he would ahead to a U.S. authorities seizure tackle.
ZachXBT additional claimed that transaction trails recommend roughly $20 million was faraway from USMS-linked wallets in October 2024, most of which was returned inside a day, although roughly $700,000 routed by way of instantaneous exchanges was not recovered.
In extra posts, ZachXBT estimated that whole suspected thefts might exceed $90 million in numerous crypto when accounting for different pockets exercise noticed in late 2025, a few of which he mentioned stays in compromised wallets.
United States’s bitcoin safety beneath scrutiny
The allegations have raised legitimate considerations over how the U.S. authorities safeguards its rising stockpile of seized bitcoin and different digital property. The federal authorities could management between roughly 198,000 BTC and greater than 300,000 BTC, value tens of billions of {dollars} at present market costs.
In accordance with bitcointreasuries.net, the U.S. authorities holds 328,372 bitcoin value roughly $29 billion.
The controversy comes amid heightened scrutiny of how seized bitcoin is dealt with following stories earlier this yr questioning whether or not forfeited property tied to the Samourai Pockets case have been improperly offered regardless of govt orders directing that seized bitcoin be retained as a part of a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Whereas U.S. officers later denied that any sale befell, the shortage of on-chain proof offered publicly has continued to gas skepticism.
