Tether assisted the U.S. Department of Justice in confiscating $61 million in USDT stablecoins. The funds were stolen through a romance-based investment fraud scheme: perpetrators built relationships with victims over months, gained their trust, and then persuaded them to invest in fake cryptocurrency platforms. Using blockchain tracking tools and close cooperation with agents in North Carolina, the assets were frozen and seized for subsequent restitution to victims.
The investigation began with a complaint filed by one of the victims in North Carolina. Specialists from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) traced the stolen funds through a chain of crypto wallets. Once final addresses holding significant sums were identified, Tether blocked access to the tokens, enabling a civil forfeiture process to proceed.
Tether активно helps combat crime in the digital asset space. By leveraging advanced analytics tools and cooperating with more than 310 agencies across 64 countries, the company has already frozen approximately $4.2 billion in illicit assets.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino подчеркнул the significance of this work: “We aim to support authorities in freezing illicit assets, protecting victims, and ensuring that USD₮ continues to serve as a transparent tool for global commerce.”
Examples of the most significant investigations in 2024–2025:
| Date | Agency | Amount Seized | Reason |
| July 2025 | DOJ (USA) | $1.6 million |
Terrorism financing
|
| June 2025 | Brazilian authorities | $6.2 million |
Money laundering
|
| June 2025 | DOJ and OKX | $225 million |
Pig butchering schemes
|
| March 2025 | U.S. Secret Service | $23 million |
Sanctions violations (Garantex)
|
| November 2024 | Thai Police | $12 million |
Transnational fraud
|
- More details: Google News
