In August, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced the seizure of nearly $5 million worth of Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar.
The confiscated funds were linked to cryptocurrency addresses suspected of being used to launder illicit proceeds obtained from victims of cryptocurrency investment scams, often referred to as “pig butchering
“Americans are losing their life’s savings to investment frauds as funds are being rapidly transferred to cryptocurrency accounts overseas, In this case, one victim lost his entire individual retirement account to a scam. We are clawing back every dollar we can, even when criminals are located abroad. We are determined to seize their illegal proceeds and return money to the victims.” U.S. Attorney Michael Easley said.
The scheme, commonly referred to as “Pig Butchering,” involves scammers establishing close relationships with their victims, often feigning romantic interest. They invest time in building trust and emotional bonds before introducing fraudulent investment opportunities.
According to Crypto News, the scammers targeted around 71 victims, including a 60-year-old resident of Angier and an 83-year-old from Minnesota. An FBI statement revealed that victims were tricked into investing in cryptocurrency through a fraudulent trading platform called Bitkanant, designed to mimic the legitimate Singapore-based Bitkan exchange.
Once the victims transferred USDT to the scammers’ wallets, believing it to be a legitimate investment, the scammers would cut off all contact.
Court documents reveal that scammers used fake identities to approach the victims on social media platforms like WhatsApp.
The FBI’s September report on crypto fraud also revealed that crypto scam losses exceeded $5.6 billion in 2023 alone, with individuals over 60 as the most affected demographic.
The funds are now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service while the FBI has launched an investigation to identify the key individuals behind the cryptocurrency fraud.
