Crypto recovery lawyer or recovery firm: which do you need?

After a crypto scam, two kinds of help come up: lawyers and recovery firms. They do different jobs, and choosing the wrong one can cost you money and, more importantly, time.

Updated 9 November 2026

The short answer

If the scammers are overseas, which is true of almost every crypto investment and romance scam, recovery starts with an investigation, not a lawsuit. A recovery firm traces where your money went and gets the institutions holding it to freeze it. A lawyer becomes useful when you need a court: to sue someone who can be identified, or to force an institution that won't act otherwise. Many large cases use both.

What a crypto recovery lawyer does

• Gives legal advice and represents you in court.
• Files lawsuits and asks courts for orders, including orders to freeze accounts.
• Is licensed and regulated by a state bar, which you can check.
• Usually charges by the hour or a retainer up front. Some take a share of what's recovered.
• Usually needs the funds traced first, so you may also pay for an investigation.

What a full-service recovery firm like us does

• Traces your funds across wallets, exchanges and countries. We do it within 48 hours of engaging.
• Finds the exchanges, stablecoin companies and banks holding the money.
• Takes the evidence to those institutions and pushes them to freeze it, with law enforcement involved where needed.
• Charges a flat fee set for your case, plus 5% only of what's recovered.

Can they get funds frozen?

Lawyers can ask a court to order a freeze. Recovery firms differ: some only hand you a report, others get institutions to act. We're in the second group. In August 2025, our findings led to a $5.6 million freeze in a single case, and we've secured a freeze from a billion-dollar casino with no court order required. How freezes work.

Side by side

When you need a lawyer, and when to start with a firm

Start with a recovery firm when you don't know where the money went, the scammers are overseas, or time matters, which it almost always does. Bring in a lawyer when there's an identifiable person or company to sue, or when an institution will only act on a court order.

How we work with lawyers

Our default route runs through the institutions holding your money and law enforcement, and it needs no lawyer. If your case calls for court action, we coordinate with experienced, cost-effective lawyers in the country where the assets are. That matters, because a lawsuit has to be filed where the scammers or the assets are. We find the scammers' identities and assets so the lawyers can act. If you already have an attorney, or your case is large enough that one is the natural step, we work alongside them and provide the evidence.

Be careful with “no win, no fee” lawyers

Some firms that offer to take your case for a share of what's recovered are personal injury firms with no experience in cross-border fraud. At best, they lose you valuable time, and in recovery, time is what matters most. At worst, they're fake. Asset recovery takes hundreds of hours of work before any money comes back, which is why genuine percentage-only offers are rare for scam cases.

Watch out for fake law firms

In 2025, the FBI warned that criminals pose as law firms to target crypto scam victims a second time. They borrow real attorneys' names and real office addresses. Before you hire any lawyer or firm:

• Check the lawyer's license with the state bar.
• Ask for proof of past work with law enforcement and financial institutions, and evidence of past freezes.
• Make sure the website, email and phone number all belong to the firm you think you're dealing with.

Fake recovery sites we've found · How to choose a legitimate recovery firm · How much crypto recovery costs

Common questions