DOJ seeks $3.4M tether forfeiture in crypto fraud case
The post DOJ seeks $3.4M tether forfeiture in crypto fraud case appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Federal authorities in Boston are seeking court approval to permanently seize more than $3.4 million in cryptocurrency they say was stolen from victims through an elaborate online investment scam. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office, announced this week that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed a civil forfeiture action to recover roughly 3,444,470 USDT, a type of digital currency known as Tether, which prosecutors allege are the proceeds of an online investment fraud and money laundering operation. Agents seized the funds in February and March of 2025. The government is now asking a judge to sign off on permanently forfeiting the assets. The case began in late 2024 after at least four people reported losing money to the scheme. Two of those victims live in Massachusetts, one in Utah, and one in South Carolina. How the scam worked According to prosecutors, scammers behind these types of fraud operations typically begin by building trust with their targets online before steering them into fake cryptocurrency investment deals. The financial and emotional damage to victims can be severe. Authorities noted that the people running these schemes are often based outside the United States. Court documents describe how the unknown suspects first made contact with victims through what looked like messages sent to the wrong number, either through regular text messages or encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. Once they had established a rapport with their targets, the suspects persuaded the victims to put money into what they described as a special Ethereum investment opportunity, which they falsely claimed was backed by physical gold. The victims were instructed to purchase the popular cryptocurrency Ethereum and transfer it to digital wallets under the scammers’ control. The victims thought they were…
Filed under: News - @ March 11, 2026 5:20 pm