365Crypto
$61M Frozen in Stablecoin Crackdown
US federal agents in North Carolina seized over $61 million in USDT tied to a large pig butchering crypto scam.
The action shows how blockchain trails can expose even complex laundering networks.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, scammers built fake romantic relationships and claimed to have insider trading skills.
Victims were directed to polished crypto platforms that displayed fake profits and inflated portfolio balances, creating the illusion of success while quietly draining real funds from real people.
How the Scheme Worked
The fraud followed a familiar script. Trust first. Money later.
Scammers convinced victims to deposit funds into controlled wallets connected to fake investment dashboards.
When users tried to withdraw funds, the platform blocked access and demanded extra fees. The money was already gone.
Investigators from Homeland Security Investigations tracked the stolen funds across multiple blockchain wallets and identified addresses still holding large USDT balances before executing the seizure and starting forfeiture proceedings.
Tether’s Role
Prosecutors said Tether cooperated by helping transfer and freeze the assets.
Stablecoin issuers can freeze tokens when linked to crime, which makes dollar-pegged crypto less anonymous than many assume.
AI Scams Surge
Crypto fraud is rising fast.
A 2026 report from Chainalysis found that scam losses hit $17 billion in 2025, with AI-powered impersonation scams jumping 1,400% year over year and generating higher returns than classic phishing campaigns.
In one December case, a Bitcoin investor lost retirement savings after an AI-generated persona convinced him to transfer coins to a fake trading site. The photos were fake. The profits were fake. The losses were not.
US courts are responding with heavier penalties. In February, a central figure in a $70 million laundering ring tied to pig butchering scams received a 20-year federal prison sentence.
Footnotes:
Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset like the US dollar.
Pig butchering: A scam where criminals build trust over time before stealing large sums.
Forfeiture: Legal process where the government takes ownership of seized assets linked to crime.
