Feds Seize $61 Million in Tether Linked to ‘Pig Butchering’ Crypto Scams
US federal brokers have seized greater than $61 million value of USDT. Investigators traced the seized funds to cryptocurrency addresses allegedly linked to the laundering of felony proceeds obtained via “pig butchering” schemes.
According to the official press launch, the funds had been related to scams in which victims had been recruited and manipulated into transferring cash beneath false pretenses.
Romance, Fake Profits, and $61M in USDT
Court 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 huge earnings via cryptocurrency buying and selling.
Victims had been directed to fraudulent cryptocurrency buying and selling platforms that intently resembled legit platforms in identify and look. These faux platforms displayed fabricated funding portfolios and confirmed unusually high returns in order to encourage victims to make investments rising quantities of cash.
When victims tried to withdraw their funds, they had been unable to achieve this and had been regularly advised they wanted to pay further “taxes” or “charges” to launch their property. According to authorities, these techniques had been used to extract extra money from victims.
Once funds had been transferred to cryptocurrency wallets managed by the scammers, the cash was quickly moved via a number of wallets to conceal its supply, possession, and management. In this case, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) brokers and analysts in Raleigh obtained a criticism via the HSI Tip Line and traced the sufferer’s funds via a number of cryptocurrency wallets concerned in the alleged fraud and cash laundering scheme.
Authorities additionally revealed that a few of these wallets nonetheless held vital quantities of victims’ funds, making them topic to seizure and forfeiture.
Crackdowns
Tether has been involved in a number of monetary crime investigations in coordination with worldwide legislation enforcement companies. The stablecoin issuer has assisted efforts to monitor, freeze, and assist the seizure of illicit funds. On July 22, 2025, the US Department of Justice introduced a civil forfeiture motion towards Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company 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, related to a cross-border money-laundering scheme performed via Klever Wallet. Also in June 2025, the Department of Justice and OKX enabled a civil forfeiture criticism searching for to seize roughly $225 million in USDT allegedly linked to pig butchering funding scams. In March 2025, the United States Secret Service froze $23 million in funds related to transactions on the Russian-sanctioned change Garantex.
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