US Authorities Seek to Recover $327K USDt from Romance Fraud Scheme

The US Justice Department is seeking to recover about $327,829 worth of stablecoins allegedly connected to a money laundering scheme part of an online romance scam.

In a Monday notice, the US Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts said it had filed a civil forfeiture action to recover more than 327,829 of Tether’s USDt (USDT). According to authorities, the funds were tied to an alleged online romance fraud scheme perpetrated by an individual named “Linda Brown” which targeted a Massachusetts resident starting in 2024. 

“Some of the victim’s funds were traced to multiple unhosted cryptocurrency wallets, which were seized in August 2025,” said the Justice Department. “The complaint alleges that all cryptocurrency associated with those wallets was property involved in money laundering.”

The discover of the romance rip-off took place three weeks after folks in lots of nations celebrated Valentine’s Day. The US Lawyer’s Workplace for the Northern District of Ohio issued a warning earlier than the vacation about romance scams, informing folks to not “ship cash, reward playing cards, or cryptocurrency to somebody you haven’t met in individual.”

Associated: February crypto losses hit lowest stage since March 2025, says PeckShield

Cointelegraph reached out to Tether for remark, however had not acquired a response on the time of publication.

Tether froze $4.2 billion tied to illicit exercise in earlier three years

On Friday, a spokesperson for the stablecoin issuer reportedly advised Reuters that Tether had frozen about $4.2 billion price of USDt related to suspected prison exercise since 2023.

The corporate has the flexibility to freeze its stablecoin by blacklisting sure pockets addresses. For instance, Tether reported in February that it had frozen about $544 million allegedly tied to illegal betting platforms and cash laundering on the request of Turkish authorities.