DOJ Seeks Forfeiture of $225m Tied to Crypto ‘Pig Butchering’ Scams
On June 18, the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace filed a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking the forfeiture of around $225.3 million in cryptocurrency linked to massive cryptocurrency confidence fraud schemes. Tether, the provider of the U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, acknowledged its collaboration with authorities to seize the assets.
The U.S. Department of Justice has taken action to seize over $225 million in cryptocurrency connected to significant pig butchering scams. The majority of the funds were in Tether (USDT), frozen with the help of Tether. An investigation revealed that the funds were proceeds from crypto scams tied to a large-scale pig butchering scheme affecting victims worldwide. The wallet addresses associated with the stolen assets were part of a sophisticated blockchain-based money laundering network.
Perpetrators of the crypto investment scams utilized complex transaction networks to obscure the flow of illicit funds. Law enforcement utilized blockchain analytics tools to trace the transactions and identify the fraudulent operation. The fraudsters defrauded over 400 victims globally.
U.S. Attorney Pirro emphasized the office’s commitment to combatting crypto-confidence scams and recovering stolen funds to compensate victims. Recent reports highlight the significant financial losses incurred by victims of crypto-related investment fraud schemes, with pig butchering scams comprising a substantial portion of these losses.
In a related development, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a Myanmar warlord and his militia for various crimes, including money laundering, human trafficking, and crypto fraud tied to pig butchering activities.
Reference: Source
