U.S. prosecutors have filed charges seeking the seizure of $3.44 million in USDT in connection with online investment fraud and money laundering.

PANews reported on March 11 that, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Massachusetts, the office has filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit seeking to recover approximately 3.444 million USDT, assets allegedly derived from an online investment fraud and money laundering scheme. The investigation began in late 2024 and the fraud targeted at least four victims, including two Massachusetts residents, one Utah resident, and one South Carolina resident.

Court documents allege that an unknown entity gained the victims' trust through misleading text messages or encrypted communication applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram, then lured them into investing in purported exclusive Ethereum investment opportunities backed by physical gold. Victims were instructed to purchase ETH and transfer it to intermediary wallets controlled by the unknown entity. The funds were subsequently converted into USDT and transferred to non-custodial wallets for theft. The government seized 3.444 million USDT in February and March 2025. Civil forfeiture lawsuits allow third parties to file claims against the property, which must be resolved before the property can be forfeited and returned to the victims.