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The United States Attorney’s Office in Chicago announced on March 12th that approximately $1.4 million in Tether had been seized. The funds are suspected to be proceeds from a customer support scam. The recovery efforts were conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). According to the US Attorney’s Office, the Tether team helped with the operation.
Tether Responds Promptly to Seizure
According to the prosecution, the funds were mostly stolen through a customer support scam targeting the elderly. Victims were deceived by a pop-up ad on their computers, which claimed their computer had been compromised and provided a fake customer support number to contact. When they contacted this number, they were informed that their bank accounts were also compromised and were transferred to another scammer posing as a support representative. In a press release from Tether, the following statements were made:
“We are proud of our collaboration with the United States government in combating financial fraud within the crypto ecosystem. The seizure of $1.4 million worth of Tether (USDT) marks an important milestone in our ongoing efforts to maintain integrity in this rapidly developing sector. Our commitment to protecting users and eliminating illegal activities is unwavering. We will continue to lead in promoting a safer and more secure environment in collaboration with law enforcement agencies around the world.”
Noteworthy Details in the Investigation
During this process, victims were directed to transfer their bank funds to USDT to supposedly keep their assets safe. At this point, the victims lost control of their tokens, and communication was likely cut off by the alleged scammers. While the investigation is ongoing, it is not currently clear how the funds were recovered, but a declaration filed on January 24th seems to show that law enforcement was able to trace the funds to five different wallets.
The document states that the suspect wallets contained assets that could be traced to the proceeds of a phone scam involving financial fraud and were likely transferred through a series of intermediary addresses without any discernible purpose, possibly in an effort to launder the proceeds.
Crypto market fraud crimes targeting both government and crypto companies are of great importance for preventing victimization in recent times. This development is making it harder for hackers to engage in crime as before and is facilitating investors to invest in the crypto market.
