U.S. seizes over $61M in USDT linked to pig butchering crypto fraud on 25 February 2026

On 25 February 2026, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of North Carolina announced the seizure of more than $61 million in Tether (USDT) allegedly tied to a large-scale "pig butchering" cryptocurrency scam. The operation, led by Homeland Security Investigations in Raleigh, relied on blockchain tracing tools and cooperation from Tether, which froze suspect wallets and moved the funds to government-controlled accounts. Authorities indicated the assets are now in federal forfeiture proceedings amid a wider surge in AI-driven and social engineering-based crypto fraud losses.