U.S. federal prosecutors in North Carolina announced that they have seized more than $61 million worth of USDT linked to a large-scale cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme known as “pig butchering.”
The scammers preyed on victims through fake online relationships and fraudulent trading platforms, claiming to have serious market expertise.
U.S. Seizes $61M in USDT From Pig Butchering Scam
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina in Raleigh said in a statement released Tuesday that the stablecoin funds were traced to crypto wallets allegedly used to launder proceeds stolen from victims of crypto romance scams.
Investigators from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) tracked the victims’ funds across a network of wallets, identifying accounts that still held substantial balances, which were then seized by authorities and are now subject to forfeiture.
“The seizure of a staggering $61 million worth of funds linked to cryptocurrency fraud shows that, in the Eastern District of North Carolina, cheaters never win,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “Our asset forfeiture team worked along with HSI to take the profit out of crime.”
According to court filings cited in the Department of Justice (DoJ) statement, “pig butchering” scammers first build trust with their prey through fake romantic relationships before pitching high-return crypto strategies and directing them to deposit funds on fraudulent trading platforms that show fabricated gains. However, when victims try to withdraw profits, they are either blocked or asked to pay extra in “taxes” or “fees.”
The stolen funds were then sent to wallets controlled by the scammers, with the proceeds funneled through multiple addresses on multiple networks to conceal their origin and ownership.
Prosecutors highlighted that the USDT issuer Tether cooperated in the investigation. This is the latest example of crypto firms working with authorities to freeze and recover funds flowing on-chain.
AI-Driven Crypto Scams Spur Launch of Federal Strike Force
The case comes at a time when crypto fraud is exploding. According to Chainanalysis’ 2026 Crypto Scams report, losses from crypto-oriented scams totalled $17 billion in 2025, with AI-driven impersonation and social engineering scams growing by 1,400% year-on-year. These schemes are becoming far more profitable than traditional phishing or giveaway scams.
In December, a Bitcoin investor said he lost his retirement savings after being groomed by an online trader who used AI-generated images and a fabricated persona to convince him to move his assets into a fake investment platform.
Now the U.S. government has begun to secure harsh and lengthy sentences against the perpetrators of crypto fraud.
Last month, the DoJ forfeited roughly $400 million in digital assets tied to the token mixer platform Helix, which played a crucial role in laundering proceeds from illegal darknet marketplaces. Similarly, earlier in February, a key figure in a $70 million pig-butchering crypto laundering operation was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, reflecting how seriously the judiciary is now treating this category of cybercrime.
In November, the DoJ and major federal law enforcement agencies launched the Scam Center Strike Force to combat large-scale cryptocurrency investment fraud. The interagency seeks to dismantle criminal networks in Asia that have defrauded Americans of nearly $10 billion per year.
