US federal brokers have seized greater than $61 million price of USDT. Investigators traced the seized funds to cryptocurrency addresses allegedly linked to the laundering of felony proceeds obtained by way of “pig butchering” schemes.
In line with the official press launch, the funds have been linked to scams wherein victims have been recruited and manipulated into transferring cash underneath false pretenses.
Romance, Pretend Income, and $61M in USDT
Courtroom filings state that felony actors focused victims by establishing belief and infrequently posed as romantic companions. After gaining victims’ confidence, the scammers claimed to have specialised information or strategies that might generate large earnings by way of cryptocurrency buying and selling.
Victims have been directed to fraudulent cryptocurrency buying and selling platforms that intently resembled reputable platforms in identify and look. These pretend platforms displayed fabricated funding portfolios and confirmed unusually excessive returns as a way to encourage victims to take a position rising quantities of cash.
When victims tried to withdraw their funds, they have been unable to take action and have been incessantly advised they wanted to pay further “taxes” or “charges” to launch their belongings. In line with authorities, these ways have been used to extract extra money from victims.
As soon as funds have been transferred to cryptocurrency wallets managed by the scammers, the cash was quickly moved by way of a number of wallets to hide its supply, possession, and management. On this case, Homeland Safety Investigations (HSI) brokers and analysts in Raleigh acquired a criticism by way of the HSI Tip Line and traced the sufferer’s funds by way of a number of cryptocurrency wallets concerned within the alleged fraud and cash laundering scheme.
Authorities additionally revealed that a few of these wallets nonetheless held important quantities of victims’ funds, making them topic to seizure and forfeiture.
Crackdowns
Tether has been concerned in a number of monetary crime investigations in coordination with worldwide regulation enforcement companies. The stablecoin issuer has assisted efforts to trace, freeze, and assist the seizure of illicit funds. On July 22, 2025, the US Division of Justice introduced a civil forfeiture motion in opposition to Purchase Money Cash and Cash Switch Firm that concerned freezing and reissuing $1.6 million in USDT allegedly tied to Gaza-based terror financing.
In June 2025, Brazilian authorities acknowledged Tether’s help in blocking roughly $6.2 million, linked to a cross-border money-laundering scheme carried out by way of Klever Pockets. Additionally in June 2025, the Division of Justice and OKX enabled a civil forfeiture criticism looking for to grab roughly $225 million in USDT allegedly linked to pig butchering funding scams. In March 2025, america Secret Service froze $23 million in funds related to transactions on the Russian-sanctioned alternate Garantex.
The publish Feds Seize $61 Million in Tether Linked to ‘Pig Butchering’ Crypto Scams appeared first on CryptoPotato.