DOJ seizes $9M worth of Tether linked to ‘pig butchering’ scam

• The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has allegedly seized $9 million in the stablecoin Tether (USDT).
• The funds were linked to a crypto romance and confidence scam called “pig butchering.”
• On Monday Tether announced it had frozen $255 million linked to a human trafficking scheme.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the seizure of $9 million in the stablecoin Tether (USDT), the government agency said in a press release on Tuesday.

Another Tether news related to a scam follows yesterday’s announcement that the USDT issuer had frozen millions of its own crypto token held in wallets associated with human traffickers.

DOJ seized $9 million in Tether’s USDT

According to the DOJ, the funds were seized from wallets linked to an organisation that alleged to have exploited more than 70 victims via romance and crypto confidence scams dubbed “pig butchering.”

“These scammers prey on ordinary investors by creating websites that tell victims their investments are working to make them money. The truth is that these international criminal actors are simply stealing cryptocurrency and leaving victims with nothing,” Nicole M. Argentieri, the Ag. Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said.

The crypto seizure came about after extensive investigation and collaboration between the DOJ and US Secret Service agents and analysts, the DOJ noted. As reported, the perpetrators allegedly laundered this money across multiple exchanges and addresses, employing a technique known as “chain hopping.”

Investigations into the scam were conducted by the US Secret Service, San Francisco Field Office.

Today’s announcement by the DOJ comes a day after Tether revealed it had frozen over $255 million in USDT. The funds were linked to a human trafficking scheme in Southeast Asia.

Per the crypto company, the USDT freeze was a collaborative effort between Tether and crypto exchange OKX.