In short
U.S. prosecutors in Massachusetts have filed a civil forfeiture grievance concentrating on $3.4 million in USDT tied to an alleged funding rip-off.
Investigators say victims have been approached by way of “misdirected” texts and DMs, then steered right into a pretend ETH funding “backed by bodily gold.”
That is the newest in a collection of civil forfeiture actions involving crypto allegedly linked to fraud, together with a file $14 billion motion allegedly tied to a Cambodian rip-off community.
Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have filed a civil forfeiture motion looking for to get well roughly $3.4 million price of the stablecoin USDT alleged to be the proceeds of a crypto fraud and cash laundering scheme.
In accordance with a press launch from the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the District of Massachusetts, the DOJ seized the crypto funds in February and March 2025, following an investigation that started in late 2024.
The investigation recognized a minimum of 4 victims together with two Massachusetts residents, plus residents of Utah and South Carolina, the DOJ stated. Prosecutors allege the scheme adopted a well-recognized “relationship-building” playbook by which victims have been first contacted via seemingly misdirected textual content messages or encrypted messaging apps together with WhatsApp and Telegram.
Courtroom filings allege the victims have been persuaded to spend money on what was offered as an unique Ethereum alternative “backed by bodily gold.” As an alternative, prosecutors say victims have been directed to ship ETH to middleman wallets managed by unknown topics, after which the funds have been transformed into USDT and moved into unhosted wallets.
The grievance alleges conduct in line with federal wire fraud and cash laundering statutes, together with transactions designed to hide the supply, possession, and management of legal proceeds.
That is the newest in a collection of current civil forfeiture actions involving allegedly fraud-linked crypto, together with a March case looking for $327,000 in USDT tied to a romance rip-off, a January submitting over $200,000 in USDT linked to an alleged Tinder pig-butchering scheme, and a file October 2025 motion concentrating on roughly $14 billion in Bitcoin allegedly tied to a Cambodian rip-off community.
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