U.S. federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that federal agents have seized more than $61 million worth of USDT linked to a sprawling network of cryptocurrency investment fraud known as “pig butchering.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina said in a statement that the funds were traced to crypto wallets allegedly used to launder proceeds stolen from victims of the crypto romance scam.
Investigators from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) followed victim funds through a network of wallets, identifying accounts that still held substantial balances subject to seizure and forfeiture, according to the statement.
“The seizure of a staggering $61 million worth of funds linked to cryptocurrency fraud shows that, in the Eastern District of North Carolina, cheaters never win,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “Our asset forfeiture team worked along with HSI to take the profit out of crime.”
Pig-butchering
According to court filings cited in the DOJ statement, scammers built trust through fake romantic relationships before pitching high-return crypto strategies and directing victims to fraudulent trading sites showing fabricated gains. When victims tried to withdraw, they were blocked or asked to pay extra “taxes” or “fees.”
After the stolen funds were sent to wallets controlled by the scammers, the proceeds were funneled through layers of additional addresses to conceal their origin and ownership. In this case, HSI agents traced a victim’s lost funds through a chain of wallets tied to the scheme, identifying several accounts holding significant balances eligible for seizure and forfeiture.
The case adds to a growing list of sizable forfeitures in crypto-related cases. In January, the DOJ announced a roughly $400 million forfeiture tied to the Helix darknet crypto mixer, which played a central role in laundering proceeds from illegal online marketplaces.
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