The U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia is on the move to claw back millions in cryptocurrency linked to an international scam. According to a press release from the DOJ, a civil forfeiture action has been filed in an attempt to recover about $2.5 million stolen from U.S. residents through a scheme known as "pig butchering." The fraud involves tricking individuals into parting with their money in what turns out to be a phony crypto investment opportunity. The FBI has seized 2,546,415.01 USDT Coin (USDT) from accounts linked to these crime operations based in Thailand.
"Our office will find and hold accountable criminal organizations – whether they operate within the United States or outside of it – that use fraudulent investment schemes like 'pig butchering' to defraud victims in the U.S.," U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves stated in an announcement. Their seemingly firm stance on the issue signals an ongoing commitment to pursue and dismantle sophisticated financial cybercrime, no matter where it originates. Special Agent in Charge of the the FBI's San Diego Field Office, Stacey Moy, described the exploitation enacted by these confidence tricksters as "despicable."
The scheme functions by building trust with victims online, then coaxing them into investing under false pretenses. The "butchering" takes place when the criminals make off with the stolen funds, leaving the individuals both financially and emotionally gutted. The use of civil forfeiture as a tool allows the U.S. to target both domestic and international culprits, aiming to both punish and prevent criminal activities, encourage law enforcement cooperation, and provide restitution to victims.
Individuals who suspect they've fallen prey to cybercrimes, which spans cryptocurrency scams to investment frauds, are encouraged to report these incidents to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. The civil forfeiture action is being led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Blaylock, Jr., along with Trial Attorneys Jonas Lerman and Stefanie Schwartz from the Department of Justice Criminal Division Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section's National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. Cooperatively, the FBI from Boston, San Diego, and Bangkok have been working on the case, with support from the Royal Thai Police.
