Overview
- The DOJ filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize $225.3 million in cryptocurrency linked to global ‘pig butchering’ scams, marking the largest such seizure in U.S. Secret Service history.
- Investigators used blockchain analysis to trace the funds through a complex laundering network that executed hundreds of thousands of transactions.
- Prosecutors say more than 400 victims worldwide were duped by fraudulent investment platforms, resulting in millions of dollars in losses.
- Tether, issuer of the USDT stablecoin, assisted federal investigators by identifying and freezing the illicit tokens.
- The DOJ is working with the Secret Service, FBI, and Tether to return the seized assets to affected victims.