In short
U.S. prosecutors in Massachusetts have filed a civil forfeiture criticism focusing on $3.4 million in USDT tied to an alleged funding rip-off.
Investigators say victims had 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 sequence of civil forfeiture actions involving crypto allegedly linked to fraud, together with a document $14 billion motion allegedly tied to a Cambodian rip-off community.
Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have filed a civil forfeiture motion searching for to recuperate 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. Legal professional’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 no less than 4 victims together with two Massachusetts residents, plus residents of Utah and South Carolina, the DOJ mentioned. Prosecutors allege the scheme adopted a well-known “relationship-building” playbook through which victims had been first contacted by means of seemingly misdirected textual content messages or encrypted messaging apps together with WhatsApp and Telegram.
Court docket filings allege the victims had been persuaded to put money into what was introduced as an unique Ethereum alternative “backed by bodily gold.” As an alternative, prosecutors say victims had been directed to ship ETH to middleman wallets managed by unknown topics, after which the funds had been transformed into USDT and moved into unhosted wallets.
The criticism alleges conduct per federal wire fraud and cash laundering statutes, together with transactions designed to hide the supply, possession, and management of prison proceeds.
That is the newest in a sequence of latest civil forfeiture actions involving allegedly fraud-linked crypto, together with a March case searching 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 document October 2025 motion focusing on roughly $14 billion in Bitcoin allegedly tied to a Cambodian rip-off community.
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