US authorities seize over $61 million in USDT from pig butchering crypto fraud in North Carolina

US federal agents in North Carolina have seized more than $61 million in USDT allegedly tied to a large pig butchering crypto investment scheme that used fake relationships and bogus trading platforms to target victims. Investigators tracked funds across multiple wallets before freezing addresses that still held significant balances, with Tether assisting in transferring the assets. The action comes amid a sharp rise in AI‑driven impersonation and social engineering scams, as crypto‑related fraud losses reportedly reached $17 billion in 2025.