The U.S. Department of Justice has taken legal action to seize $2.3 million worth of cryptocurrency, funds linked to an intricate “pig butchering” scam targeting a resident of Massachusetts as part of a romance fraud scheme. The civil forfeiture action, initiated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, aims to reclaim the funds connected to the elaborate deception.
The investigation into this fraudulent scheme, which commenced in the spring of 2023, uncovered that a Massachusetts resident, along with several others, was victimized by the scam. The victim was manipulated into transferring over $400,000 into a cryptocurrency wallet, falling prey to the fraudulent tactics employed by the perpetrators.
This scam, commonly known as “pig butchering,” involves fraudsters establishing trust online before persuading victims to invest in bogus schemes, resulting in substantial financial losses and emotional distress for those affected.
The U.S. government seeks to seize various cryptocurrencies, including USDC, USDT, TRX, SOL, BNB, ADA, and ETH, totaling an estimated value of $2.3 million, from two accounts involved in the scam. These assets are believed to have originated from wire fraud activities and were subsequently used in money laundering, warranting their forfeiture.
Civil forfeiture procedures allow individuals with potential claims to the seized property to come forward and have their claims adjudicated before the assets can be officially forfeited to the U.S. government. The recovered funds will then be distributed to the victims of the scam.
Furthermore, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported a significant increase in investment losses related to cryptocurrency scams, rising from $2.57 billion in 2022 to approximately $3.94 billion in 2023. This surge highlights the growing prevalence of cryptocurrency-related fraud, accounting for the majority of investment fraud losses in the country.