The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio has initiated a civil complaint in forfeiture concerning 947,883 Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency, which is valued at approximately $947,883. This action follows a cryptocurrency fraud scam that began around October 2023.
According to court documents, an Elyria, Ohio man fell victim to a scam after being prompted by a pop-up window on his computer to call a number for tech support. The victim was falsely informed that his retirement account had been compromised and funds were being transferred to accounts in China or Russia and a casino in Las Vegas. He was misled into believing he could stop these transactions by wiring money. Under this pretense, he granted remote access to his computer to the scammer, who then withdrew money and moved it into various cryptocurrency accounts. As a result, the victim lost his entire life savings of $425,000.
Investigators traced the stolen funds through blockchain analysis and found they had been converted into USDT cryptocurrency and placed in a virtual currency wallet. On July 31, 2024, law enforcement executed a federal seizure warrant to recover 947,883 USDT tokens and transferred them to a law-enforcement-controlled wallet.
The United States seeks to forfeit the recovered USDT through the Complaint in Forfeiture filed on November 26, 2024. If successful, compensation may be provided to the victim. The complaint alleges that additional cryptocurrency at the address is subject to forfeiture as fraud proceeds.
The claims made in the complaint are currently allegations that must be proven by a preponderance of evidence at trial.
The FBI Cleveland Division continues investigating similar cryptocurrency fraud schemes across the United States. Assistant United States Attorney James L. Morford represents the government in this case. The USAO acknowledges Tether's assistance with this matter.
For those suspecting fraudulent conduct involving older adults, contact can be made with the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or visit IC3.gov for reporting through the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center.