U.S. prosecutors in Massachusetts moved this week to seize just over $200,000 in USDT tied to a classic “pig-butchering” crypto scam that began with a Tinder match. In a civil forfeiture complaint filed Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says the stablecoins were proceeds of an online investment fraud that targeted a Massachusetts resident. According to court filings, the victim met a profile using the name “Nino Martin” on Tinder, then was steered to WhatsApp — a common tactic scammers use to get conversations off moderated platforms and into private channels. “Martin” reportedly posed as a financial advisor and persuaded the victim to open an account on a trading site that investigators now say was fake. The victim ultimately wired about $504,353 to the fraudulent platform before suspicions prompted outreach to law enforcement. Investigators later traced a portion of those transfers to a crypto account that was seized in June 2025; prosecutors say the seized USDT reflects part of the victim’s losses. The forfeiture action seeks to recover the roughly $200,000 in stablecoins the government identified as ill-gotten gains. This case is part of a broader surge in crypto-related crime. Chainalysis data cited by prosecutors shows illicit activity climbed 162% in 2025, with suspect addresses receiving at least $154 billion — a rise driven in large part by increased flows to sanctioned entities. Among the fastest-growing threats are pig-butchering scams, which combine romance, social engineering and fake investment schemes. Scammers cultivate trust over time, push victims to move funds to seemingly legitimate trading platforms, then harvest repeated payments before the ruse collapses. Law enforcement has been trying to cut into the infrastructure behind these campaigns, particularly networks tied to organized crime in Southeast Asia. Recent actions include sanctions on the money-laundering marketplace Huione in Cambodia and the arrest of Chen Zhi, head of Prince Holdings Group, who has alleged links to regional scam operations. Chinese authorities have also detained and sentenced leaders of criminal groups connected to scam and gambling compounds in Myanmar. But recovering stolen crypto remains difficult. Alex Katz, CEO and co-founder of blockchain security firm Kerberus, told Decrypt that most victims have little hope of full recovery once funds move across blockchains or are converted into widely used tokens. If funds are converted into stablecoins, issuers such as Tether or Circle might be able to help freeze assets, but Katz said that process is “very difficult and, in many cases, close to impossible.” Recovery through centralized exchanges can work — but only if authorities and the exchange are alerted very quickly, and cross-border cooperation is often lacking. Katz added that law enforcement responses remain uneven globally: many jurisdictions lack established procedures for crypto fraud or decline to pursue cases that don’t involve huge sums. “When incidents occur, they often don’t know how to handle them, aren’t sure whether the issue is even real, and don’t prioritize these cases,” he said — a dynamic that has allowed pig-butchering operations to proliferate despite growing enforcement efforts. The Massachusetts forfeiture action highlights both the sophistication of romance-linked crypto frauds and the uphill battle prosecutors and victims face in tracking, freezing, and reclaiming digital assets once they begin moving through the global crypto ecosystem. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

#USDT