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Regulation & Policy · 1 min read

US Attorney Files Civil Forfeiture Action for 456,602 Tether in Romance Scam Case

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts seek to recover $USDT tied to fraudulent schemes conducted across Facebook and dating platforms.

Editorial oversight: Julian Mercer, Chief Editor
Neutral
$USDT $0.9987 −0.0%

At a glance Enforcement action

What happened
The US Attorney's Office filed a civil forfeiture action to recover 456,602 USDT alleged to be romance fraud proceeds.
Why it matters
The action targets approximately $456,602 in stablecoin proceeds tied to fraudulent operations conducted on dating platforms and Facebook.
Who is affected
Individuals targeted in Massachusetts and other locations on dating sites and Facebook.
What's next
No next step announced.
Primary source
U.S. Department of Justice: United States Attorney's Office Files Civil Forfeiture Action to Recover Cryptocurrency Involved in Romance Fraud Schemes

Key points

  • The US Attorney's Office filed a civil forfeiture action to recover 456,602 USDT.
  • The stablecoins have an estimated market value of approximately $456,602.
  • Prosecutors allege the tokens are proceeds of romance scams operated via online dating sites and Facebook.

The US Attorney's Office has filed a civil forfeiture action to recover 456,602 $USDT, according to an announcement from the Department of Justice 1. The targeted cryptocurrency carries an estimated value of approximately $456,602 1.

Federal prosecutors stated that the funds are alleged to be proceeds of romance fraud operations 1. According to the US Attorney's Office, these operations targeted individuals located in Massachusetts and other jurisdictions via Facebook and online dating platforms 1.

Romance Scheme Proceeds

The forfeiture complaint represents an effort by the government to formally secure ownership of assets linked to the alleged illicit schemes 1. At the time of writing, USDT traded at $0.9987, reflecting broader stability across dollar-pegged stablecoin markets while overall market capitalization held near $2.50T. The filing documents the path of illicit digital assets across online platforms and identifies the specific volume of stablecoins subject to federal recovery efforts 1. Further actions regarding the assets remain dependent on formal judicial proceedings following the civil forfeiture filing 1.

Sources

  1. [1] United States Attorney's Office Files Civil Forfeiture Action to Recover Cryptocurrency Involved in Romance Fraud Schemes — U.S. Department of Justice, November 9, 2026

Written by Basis Desk's newsroom system from the primary sources above and machine-verified against them before publication. Market figures marked "at the time of writing" come from live exchange data. Report an error: corrections@basisdesk.news · corrections policy.

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