---
title: "US Prosecutors Charge Six in Alleged Madagascar NFT Draining Scheme"
description: "An FBI affidavit details at least $516,695 stolen across 74 victim wallets using unlimited $USDT spending approvals."
url: https://basisdesk.news/news/us-charges-six-madagascar-nft-wallet-drain
published: 2026-10-27T17:50:15.625Z
modified: 2026-10-27T17:50:15.625Z
section: Security & Hacks
author: Basis Desk Newsroom (AI-generated, source-verified)
sentiment: bearish
tickers: [USDT]
tags: [fbi, usdt, nft, wallet-drainer, cybercrime]
license: Quote with attribution to Basis Desk (basisdesk.news). Not financial advice.
---

# US Prosecutors Charge Six in Alleged Madagascar NFT Draining Scheme

An FBI affidavit details at least $516,695 stolen across 74 victim wallets using unlimited $USDT spending approvals.

## At a glance

- **What happened:** US authorities charged six people over an alleged Madagascar NFT wallet-draining scheme that stole at least $516,695.
- **Why it matters:** The case highlights federal enforcement against cybercrime networks exploiting unlimited ERC-20 spending permissions.
- **Who is affected:** Holders of the 74 victim-linked crypto wallets targeted by the scheme.
- **What's next:** No next step announced.
- **Status:** enforcement
- **Primary source:** [US Charges Six in Alleged Madagascar NFT Wallet-Draining Scheme](https://thedefiant.io/news/security/us-charges-six-in-alleged-madagascar-nft-wallet-draining-scheme) — thedefiant.io

## Key points

- US authorities charged six people in an alleged Madagascar NFT wallet-draining scheme.
- An FBI affidavit documents at least $516,695 in losses across 74 victim-linked wallets.
- The operation leveraged unlimited $USDT spending approvals to drain user balances.

## Editorial remark

- **Context:** Federal authorities have increasingly focused on wallet-draining scams that exploit smart contract token approval mechanisms across crypto ecosystems.
- **Impact:** At least 74 victim-linked wallets suffered aggregate losses exceeding $516,695 in Tether tokens.
- **Watch:** Subsequent court filings and potential arrest or extradition notices related to the six charged individuals.

United States authorities have charged six individuals in connection with an alleged Madagascar-based non-fungible token (NFT) wallet-draining scheme, according to an affidavit from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) [1].

Investigators outline that the operation resulted in at least $516,695 in documented losses across 74 victim-linked digital asset wallets [1]. The court filing notes that the alleged scheme involved obtaining unlimited spending approvals for Tether ($USDT) [1].

## Exploiting Token Approvals

According to the FBI affidavit, the activity centered on targeting NFT users through fraudulent spending permissions [1]. Victims granted unlimited approvals for $USDT, which enabled the illicit draining outlined by federal investigators [1]. Across the 74 identified wallets, the collective losses tracked by authorities reached at least $516,695 [1].

The enforcement action highlights ongoing regulatory and law enforcement scrutiny regarding smart contract token approval abuse within digital asset communities [1]. Federal investigators linked the alleged draining infrastructure directly to Madagascar [1]. At the time of writing, Tether traded flat at $0.9987 with a broader cryptocurrency market capitalization standing at $2.66 trillion.

The charges mark a formal legal step by US authorities against the six individuals cited in the affidavit [1]. The case continues the broader pattern of federal agencies using on-chain transaction analysis and technical affidavits to trace international wallet-draining networks [1].

## Sources

1. [US Charges Six in Alleged Madagascar NFT Wallet-Draining Scheme](https://thedefiant.io/news/security/us-charges-six-in-alleged-madagascar-nft-wallet-draining-scheme) — thedefiant.io, 2026-10-27

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Basis Desk Newsroom · AI-generated, source-verified · https://basisdesk.news/about/how-we-use-ai