CALIFORNIA
The Justice Department announced Tuesday the seizure of nearly $9 million worth of Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar.
These seized funds were traced to cryp
tocurrency addresses allegedly associated with an organization that exploited over 70 victims through romance scams and cryptocurrency confidence scams, which are widely known as “pig butchering.”
“Through this significant seizure, we disrupted the financial infrastructure of an organized network of scammers who stole millions from victims across the United States. 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,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Adding,“The department hopes this recovery of assets will bring some closure and a sense of justice to the over 70 victims affected by this series of scams.”
The criminals conspired to defraud unsuspecting victims into funding their bitcoin accounts by making it seem as though they were dealing with reputable businesses and exchanges, as detailed in court records. Those so-called businesses and bitcoin exchanges were actually just fronts for scams.
U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agents and analysts tracked the victims’ deposits and found that the money was swiftly “chain hopped”—a term for the practice of laundering funds through numerous cryptocurrency addresses and exchanges.
To conceal their origin, ownership, control, and nature, criminals employ these methods to “layer” illicitly acquired funds into untraceable cryptocurrency ecosystems. The confiscated cash was associated with many victim reports filed through the FTC Consumer Sentinel Network and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
“This seizure is the culmination of the exceptional hard work and collaborative partnership between the Justice Department and the United States Secret Service,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey for the Northern District of California. “Silicon Valley remains one of the world’s preeminent locations for cryptocurrency firms. As such, we remain dedicated to using all tools at our disposal to bring justice to the victims of frauds and scams. Even when money and criminals are abroad, we will work with our partners to seize cyber criminals’ illegal proceeds.”
“This seizure exemplifies the Secret Service’s mission to protect the financial infrastructure of the United States. We remain determined and vigilant to combat cyber-enabled financial fraud,” said Special Agent in Charge Shawn Bradstreet of the USSS San Franscisco Field Office.
The U.S. Secret Service’s San Francisco Field Office investigated this case.
If you are a victim of a cryptocurrency scam, or other scam involving the use of the Internet, please file a report with the IC3 at ic3.gov and with the FTC at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov.