Arizona Lawmaker Proposes Bill to Combat Cybercrime with Neo-Privateers

According to Cointelegraph, Arizona lawmaker David Schweikert has introduced a new legislative proposal titled “The Scam Farms Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025.” This bill aims to address the growing threat of cybercrime against the United States by employing neo-privateers, or state-sanctioned pirates, to combat cybercriminals. The proposed legislation would authorize the U.S. President to issue letters of marque to privately armed and equipped individuals contracted by the government. These individuals would be empowered to use all necessary means to seize property and detain or punish cybercriminals identified as threats by the President. The bill targets various cyber threats, including cryptocurrency theft, pig butchering scams, ransomware attacks, identity theft, unauthorized computer access to gather sensitive information, online password trafficking, and the compromise of computers with malicious code. It describes these criminal activities as “acts of war” carried out by individuals, organized crime groups, and foreign governments against the United States. If passed, this legislation could have significant implications for cybersecurity and asset seizure, reviving an 18th-century law to address modern challenges. In recent developments, over $142 million in cryptocurrency was lost to hackers in July, contributing to a total of over $3 billion stolen in 2025. U.S. law enforcement officials have been actively involved in investigations, with stolen crypto potentially being forfeited to the government through court proceedings. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January to establish a Bitcoin and crypto reserve, which would accumulate assets through budget-neutral strategies or asset forfeiture. In July, the U.S. federal government filed a civil complaint to claim over 20 Bitcoin, valued at over $2.3 million, seized by the Dallas, Texas, division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation during an operation against the Chaos ransomware hacker group. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice seized $1 million in cryptocurrency from the BlackSuit ransomware group during the same month. In August, the DOJ authorized the seizure of $2.8 million in crypto from a wallet controlled by Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko, who faced charges for targeting individuals and businesses with ransomware attacks.