The United States Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture action to recover 73,586 USDT (Tether), cryptocurrency alleged to be proceeds of an online investment fraud scheme that targeted a Massachusetts woman.
A Tether token is a unit of cryptocurrency that is equivalent in value to one U.S. dollar.
In January 2022, federal agents began investigating an investment fraud scheme that targeted a Massachusetts woman who was contacted in October 2021 through LinkedIn, officials said.
The victim, who officials did not name, was talked into making what she believed was a legitimate cryptocurrency investment. To do so, she downloaded an application that appeared to be a legitimate cryptocurrency platform. That platform, however, turned out to be a scam and the woman unknowingly invested money through the fraudulent application, prosecutors said.
After the woman reported the crime, federal agents traced a portion of the funds the victim invested to another cryptocurrency wallet, resulting in the seizure of 73,586 USDT.
“It is a violation of federal law to use wire communications as part of a scheme to defraud or to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
A civil forfeiture action allows third parties to assert claims to property, which must be resolved before the property can be forfeited to the United States and returned to victims.
