U.S. Marshals Service Mismanaging Billions in Seized Assets—And It Can’t Even Track Its Crypto

U.S. Marshals Service Mismanaging Billions in Seized Assets—And It Can’t Even Track Its Crypto

The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), the federal agency responsible for managing seized assets from criminal cases, oversees over $8.4 billion in confiscated property, including $2.26 billion in cryptocurrency as of 2023, yet openly admits it has no idea how much Bitcoin it holds at any given time (source). This level of incompetence would land a private individual in prison for fraud, negligence, or outright theft, yet the USMS continues operating with zero accountability.

A History of Corruption and Mismanagement

USMS has long been plagued by severe organizational dysfunction, with a 2021 DOJ report stating the agency lacks:

"basic internal controls and accountability measures"

for seized assets (source). But let’s be honest—this isn’t incompetence, it’s willful mismanagement. The agency’s failures have already cost taxpayers billions.

Take, for example, its auctioning off of 144,336 BTC seized from Silk Road. The Marshals sold it for a mere $48 million—pennies compared to its later multi-billion-dollar valuation (source). Imagine if someone tried to claim they "accidentally" lost that kind of money—they’d be sitting in a federal prison cell.

Let’s not ignore the pattern here. “lost” over $1 billion worth of assets, including missing evidence lockers full of cash, gold, and valuables. When internal audits flagged these discrepancies, the agency stonewalled investigations and refused to implement accountability measures. This is government-backed theft, plain and simple.

And let’s not forget the agency’s disastrous contract to implement a private-sector asset management system—a contract awarded in 2021 that remains unfinished and non-functional. How does an agency tasked with asset management continually fail at the one thing it exists to do? If this were a private company, the executives would be facing SEC investigations and lawsuits, but because it’s the government, no one is held accountable.

Billions in Crypto—But No Accountability

Despite controlling billions in seized crypto, the USMS refuses to disclose how much Bitcoin it holds, citing bogus “security concerns.”

The truth?

They don’t know themselves. USMS spokesperson Drew Wade admitted that the agency doesn't track its total crypto balance in real time, instead relying on antiquated, manual accounting methods (source).

Let’s call this criminal negligence. The government loves to lock up private individuals for "financial crimes," but billions. The USMS is so incompetent that it once sent Bitcoin to the wrong address and lost it permanently. Imagine trying that excuse with the IRS.

The Larger Implications- Government Hypocrisy

While the Biden administration and federal agencies pushed for greater regulation and control over cryptocurrency, they couldn't even manage their holdings. The same government that wants strict KYC laws, forced disclosures, and total control over private citizens' assets refuses to tell the public what’s happening with billions in seized Bitcoin.

The Biden administration's tenure was riddled with blatant corruption and gross mismanagement, squandering taxpayer dollars while preaching "financial responsibility." USAID, for instance, has funneled billions into black holes of inefficiency and deceit. In Haiti, after the devastating 2010 earthquake, a staggering $4.4 billion in U.S. aid was allocated, yet the impact remains invisible. Shockingly, only 2% of the $2.13 billion in contracts and grants reached Haitian organizations; the rest lined the pockets of U.S. firms and NGOs, many of which failed to account for their spending. The Red Cross, for example, boasted about providing homes but managed to construct a mere six houses.

Moreover, USAID's reckless spending isn't confined to Haiti. In Syria, a Syrian national was charged with diverting $9 million in U.S.-funded humanitarian aid, exemplifying the agency's failure to monitor its funds.

Corrupt, Incompetent, and Beyond Repair

The USMS's gross mismanagement of seized crypto assets is an outright scandal, and its refusal to provide transparency raises serious questions about its legitimacy. If a private citizen engaged in this level of financial recklessness, they would be prosecuted for fraud, yet the government gets a free pass.

With billions of taxpayer dollars at stake, it’s time to dismantle this outdated, corrupt system and replace it with modern, accountable oversight before even more money is squandered. Cleaning house in their own agencies The USMS is obviously unfit for the job—it’s actively undermining public trust and financial stability.

Until real consequences are enforced, the U.S. Marshals Service will continue operating like a state-sanctioned criminal enterprise, bleeding taxpayers dry and losing track of billions in assets while pretending to uphold justice. If the federal government were serious about stopping financial crimes, they’d start by investigating themselves.