Federal authorities have seized nearly $5 million in cryptocurrency tied to a sophisticated investment fraud scheme in Raleigh, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The seized funds, in the form of tether (a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar), were linked to a complex money-laundering operation where criminals exploited victims of so-called “pig butchering” scams. These scams involve fraudsters building fake romantic relationships to gain victims’ trust and ultimately convincing them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms designed to mimic legitimate ones.
“Americans are losing their life savings to these investment frauds as funds are quickly funneled into cryptocurrency accounts overseas,” U.S. Attorney Michael Easley said. He emphasized that even though many of the criminals are located abroad, efforts are being made to recover as much as possible for the victims. “In this case, one victim lost his entire individual retirement account to the scam. We are clawing back every dollar we can.”
These fraudulent platforms display fake profits to lure victims into making more investments. When victims try to withdraw their funds, they are often hit with demands for additional payments, supposedly for taxes or penalties.
Despite the criminals’ attempts to conceal the stolen funds through multiple cryptocurrency wallets, FBI agents were able to trace and recover a portion of the money. The authorities remain committed to holding scammers accountable and protecting the public from such schemes.