Crypto scammers in U.S. extracted $61 million from victims of romance fraud
Federal agents in North Carolina have seized more than $61 million in USDT linked to a large-scale romance-based crypto fraud scheme known as “pig butchering.” The funds were traced to wallets allegedly used to launder proceeds stolen from victims through fake investment platforms.
The U.S. Department of Justice said stablecoin issuer Tether cooperated with authorities and assisted in freezing the assets.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Investigators followed the movement of funds across a network of wallets and identified addresses holding substantial balances that were subject to seizure and forfeiture.
How the “pig butchering” scheme works
Pig butchering is a form of fraud that combines romance scams with fake investment opportunities. The name refers to the tactic of “fattening up” victims by building trust before financially exploiting them.The scheme typically unfolds in several stages:
- A scammer initiates contact through social media or dating apps.
- Over weeks or months, they build an emotional relationship.
- They begin discussing supposedly successful cryptocurrency trading.
- The victim is encouraged to invest through a “reliable” platform.
In this case, stolen funds were routed through multiple layers of crypto wallets to obscure their origin. Investigators were nonetheless able to trace transactions and identify wallets holding significant USDT balances.
Crypto fraud on the rise
According to Chainalysis, total crypto scam losses reached $17 billion in 2025. AI-driven impersonation and social engineering schemes surged 1,400% year over year, significantly increasing profitability compared with traditional phishing scams.In December 2025, a Bitcoin investor reported losing retirement savings after being persuaded to transfer funds to a fake investment platform. The scammer used AI-generated images and a fabricated persona to build trust.
Previously, we reported that Australian authorities uncovered a $3.5 million crypto scheme targeting elderly victims.
-
Afghanistan
-
Albania
-
Algeria
-
Angola
-
Argentina
-
Armenia
-
Australia
-
Austria
-
Azerbaijan
-
Bahamas
-
Bahrain
-
Bangladesh
-
Belarus
-
Belgium
-
Bolivia
-
Botswana
-
Brazil
-
Brunei
-
Bulgaria
-
Cambodia
-
Cameroon
-
Canada
-
Chile
-
China
-
Colombia
-
Congo
-
Costa Rica
-
Cote d'Ivoire
-
Croatia
-
Cuba
-
Cyprus
-
Czechia
-
DR Congo
-
Denmark
-
Dominican Republic
-
Ecuador
-
Egypt
-
El Salvador
-
Estonia
-
Eswatini
-
Ethiopia
-
Finland
-
France
-
Georgia
-
Germany
-
Ghana
-
Greece
-
Haiti
-
Hong Kong
-
Hungary
-
India
-
Indonesia
-
Iran, Islamic republic
-
Iraq
-
Ireland
-
Israel
-
Italy
-
Jamaica
-
Japan
-
Jordan
-
Kazakhstan
-
Kenya
-
Korea
-
Kuwait
-
Kyrgyzstan
-
Laos
-
Latvia
-
Lebanon
-
Lesotho
-
Libya
-
Lithuania
-
Luxembourg
-
Madagascar
-
Malaysia
-
Malta
-
Mauritius
-
Mexico
-
Moldova
-
Mongolia
-
Montenegro
-
Morocco
-
Mozambique
-
Myanmar
-
Namibia
-
Nepal
-
Netherlands
-
New Zealand
-
Nigeria
-
North Macedonia
-
Norway
-
Oman
-
Pakistan
-
Palestine
-
Panama
-
Papua New Guinea
-
Paraguay
-
Peru
-
Philippines
-
Poland
-
Portugal
-
Puerto Rico
-
Qatar
-
Reunion
-
Romania
-
Rwanda
-
Saudi Arabia
-
Serbia
-
Singapore
-
Slovakia
-
Slovenia
-
Somalia
-
South Africa
-
Spain
-
Sri Lanka
-
Sweden
-
Switzerland
-
Syria
-
Taiwan
-
Tajikistan
-
Tanzania
-
Thailand
-
Trinidad and Tobago
-
Tunisia
-
Turkey
-
UAE
-
Uganda
-
Ukraine
-
United Kingdom
-
United States
-
Uruguay
-
Uzbekistan
-
Venezuela
-
Vietnam
-
Yemen
-
Zambia
-
Zimbabwe
- Forex
- Crypto
