Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of North Carolina announced the seizure of more than $61 million worth of Tether (USDT) in one of the largest cryptocurrency asset forfeiture actions tied to a romance-style investment fraud known as a “pig butchering” scheme.
- Over $61 million in USDT was seized by federal agents in North Carolina, linked to wallets used in a “pig butchering” romance investment scam.
- Homeland Security Investigations traced victims’ stolen funds through a chain of crypto wallets, leading to forfeiture of the remaining balances.
- U.S. authorities, with assistance from Tether, highlighted the operation as part of an ongoing crackdown on cryptocurrency fraud and money-laundering schemes.
North Carolina Feds seize $61M in crypto
The operation shows growing U.S. efforts to trace and reclaim digital assets used in complex fraud and money-laundering networks.
The U.S. Department of Justice said the seized funds were traced to multiple cryptocurrency wallets controlled by criminal actors who lured victims into fraudulent crypto trading platforms after building trust through purported romantic relationships.
Once victims deposited money into these fake platforms, operators allegedly prevented withdrawals or demanded bogus “fees” and “taxes” to extract more funds. Investigators from Homeland Security Investigations in Raleigh, North Carolina, followed the flow of the stolen proceeds through a network of wallets and identified accounts still holding significant balances subject to seizure and forfeiture.
“The seizure of a staggering $61 million … shows that, in the Eastern District of North Carolina, cheaters never win,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle, highlighting the district’s asset forfeiture team’s work with HSI to disrupt the fraud network.
The DOJ also acknowledged assistance from Tether in facilitating the transfer of the assets once targeted wallets were identified.
Pig butchering scams, a hybrid of romance fraud and investment deception, have become an escalating threat globally, with victims often recruited on social media or dating apps before being directed to professional-looking, yet fake, cryptocurrency investment portals. Once funds are sent, victims find themselves unable to withdraw, leaving law enforcement to trace and recover the proceeds.
The $61 million seizure adds to a broader trend of high-profile crypto forfeitures by U.S. authorities in recent years.
