North Carolina Federal Prosecutor Seizes Over 61 Million USDT in Connection With "Rug Pull" Crypto Scam

BlockBeats News, February 25th, the Eastern District of North Carolina US Attorney's Office announced that law enforcement officers have seized over $61 million USDT, and the related funds are suspected to be associated with a "Ponzi scheme" style cryptocurrency investment fraud. The prosecution stated that these funds have been traced to multiple cryptocurrency wallet addresses and were used to launder funds stolen from victims on fake trading platforms.

According to the report, the investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and law enforcement officers, through on-chain tracking, identified wallet accounts still holding large balances that met the seizure criteria. Prosecutor Ellis Boyle stated that this seizure "deprived the proceeds of crime" and demonstrated law enforcement's determination to combat cryptocurrency fraud.

According to court documents disclosed by the Department of Justice, fraudster groups typically earn trust by establishing fake romantic relationships, inducing victims to participate in so-called high-yield cryptocurrency investments, and continuously "farming" accounts on platforms with falsified profit data. When victims attempt to withdraw funds, they are either asked to pay additional "taxes" or are outright denied. The funds are then layeredly transferred to multiple addresses to conceal their source and ownership.

This case is another example of recent cryptocurrency asset seizure actions. In January of this year, the US Department of Justice also announced the seizure of approximately $400 million in assets involving the dark web cryptocurrency mixing service Helix. Currently, the seizure and recovery process for the related funds is still ongoing.