The US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced this week that it had seized $61 million worth of Tether allegedly linked to a fake cryptocurrency scheme known as Pig Butchering.
The agency added that the seized funds were traced to a cryptocurrency address used to launder criminal proceeds stolen from victims of a cryptocurrency investment scam.
“Criminals and professional money launderers use cyber-based fraud schemes to deceive their victims and hide their ill-gotten gains,” said Kyle D. Burns, HSI Charlotte Acting Special Agent in Charge.
“HSI special agents work diligently to track the illegal proceeds of crime around the world in order to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations that seek to defraud hardworking Americans.”
As is common in such cybercrime operations, threat actors are known to target individuals by approaching them on dating or social media messaging apps and then fostering romantic relationships. These activities are carried out by individuals trafficked into fraudulent facilities operating primarily in Southeast Asia with the promise of well-paying jobs.
The cybercriminal organization behind the scam then confiscates their passports and forces them to scam victims online by posing as attractive strangers or brokers from investment platforms, or face cruel consequences. The end goal is to convince unsuspecting users to part with their hard-earned money in fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes.
According to the Department of Justice, the fake platform displayed fabricated investment portfolios showing abnormally high returns in a deliberate attempt to get victims to invest more money. When users try to withdraw their funds, they are faced with the reality that they are asked to pay an additional fee as a way to withdraw more money.
“Once the victim’s funds were transferred to a cryptocurrency wallet under the control of the fraudsters, the fraudsters quickly transferred the money to a number of other wallets in order to hide the nature, origin, control, and ownership of the stolen money,” the ministry added.
In a coordinated announcement, Tether said it has frozen approximately $4.2 billion in assets related to illegal activities to date, including approximately $250 million related to fraudulent networks from June 2025 alone.
Source link
