# Boston prosecutors seek 456,600 USDT in romance fraud case Author: Hatice Ertaş Language: English Published: 2026-11-11T11:13:32+03:00 Updated: 2026-11-11T11:13:32+03:00 ![A green Tether symbol inside a transparent evidence pouch sealed with a red strip.](https://kriptometa.com/uploads/boston-da-savcilar-usdt-icin-musadere-davasi-acti-a248e1310522_article.webp) ## Key takeaways - Tether froze outgoing USDT transfers from the two wallets in early 2025 at the request of law enforcement. - A complaint to police in Massachusetts helped the FBI identify two more victims, in Ohio and California. - Third parties can claim an interest in the tokens before the court decides whether the government can keep them. An FBI agent traced payments from three people who thought they were investing through contacts they met online. Tether transferred the USDT that prosecutors linked to the alleged fraud to a government wallet in November 2025. On November 9, federal prosecutors in Massachusetts [asked a Boston court to order the forfeiture](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/united-states-attorneys-office-files-civil-forfeiture-action-recover-cryptocurrency-1) of USDT seized from two wallets. They allege that people who had gained victims’ trust online persuaded them to send money to fake trading platforms. FBI Special Agent Brittany Shortall describes payments from residents of Massachusetts, Ohio and California in a sworn affidavit. ## How much USDT was in the two wallets? The US Attorney’s Office put the amount at 456,602 USDT and estimated its value at about $456,602. USDT is a [stablecoin](https://kriptometa.com/en/glossary/stablecoin) designed to track the US dollar. The two amounts in the [court filing](https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/2026-11/complaint_for_forfeiture_and_affidavit.pdf) add up to 456,592.805432 USDT. Prosecutors did not explain why their announcement gives a total about 9.19 USDT higher than the filing. USDT balances when investigators requested the freezes and amounts in the complaint | Wallet | Approximate balance at freeze request | Approximate amount sought | |---|---|---| | First | 377,378 USDT | 398,889.105675 USDT | | Second | 53,438 USDT | 57,703.699757 USDT | Shortall said Tether froze outgoing USDT transfers from the first wallet around January 22, 2025, and from the second around February 10, at investigators’ request. Incoming payments continued. The first address received about 21,511 more USDT and the second another 4,265 USDT. Federal authorities obtained seizure warrants on September 29, 2025. The complaint says Tether [burned the tokens](https://kriptometa.com/en/glossary/token-burning) tied to the two wallets, issued the same amount again and transferred it to a US government wallet around November 4 of that year. ## How the FBI traced payments from three states In January 2025 a Massachusetts resident walked into the Norwood Police Department to report a loss. The resident said someone they met on a dating site in July 2024 moved the conversation to WhatsApp and, several weeks later, described making large profits on a platform called Bitone. In August and September the resident bought roughly $882,618 worth of bitcoin in about 13 transactions and sent it to addresses they thought belonged to their Bitone account. When the resident tried to withdraw the money, they were asked for taxes, guarantees and withdrawal fees. In September and October they bought another $1,006,605 worth of USDC and USDT through Coinbase and Kraken and sent it on. Even after sending about $1,889,223 in crypto altogether, the resident could not withdraw their money. Shortall said the victim sent the money from genuine accounts at [crypto exchanges](https://kriptometa.com/en/best-crypto-exchanges) to [wallets](https://kriptometa.com/en/glossary/crypto-wallet) controlled by the suspects. The FBI traced incoming transfers to the first wallet and used exchange records to identify other victims. An Ohio resident told investigators that someone they met on Facebook introduced them to FyiePro. A payment of about 2,870 USDT reached the first wallet in late January. By early February, Tether had frozen outgoing transfers from that address. Agents traced the resident’s next payment of about 5,490 USDT to the second wallet. A California resident met a contact on RedNote who introduced them to an app called INV. According to the affidavit, the resident wired $75,000 to US accounts and sent about $85,000 in cryptocurrency from their Coinbase account. When they tried to withdraw, purported customer service staff demanded a 10% tax on their earnings and threatened to freeze the account. Shortall reported that the first wallet received about 8.72 million USDT and sent out 8.32 million over roughly 11 months. The second received 984,012 USDT and sent out 926,308 over about a year. Prosecutors cite the mixing of payments from different victims and transfers onward to other addresses as evidence of suspected money laundering. The figures count money moving through the wallets, including funds that changed hands again. ## What happens before victims can be repaid? In civil case 1:26-cv-15037, prosecutors asked the court to direct the US Marshals Service to retain custody and give notice to anyone with an interest in the tokens. The action targets the assets under federal wire fraud and money laundering laws. The court must resolve any third-party claims before the government can take ownership and return funds to victims. Prosecutors gave no timetable for repayments. The same office announced a [separate forfeiture action over fake Coinbase messages](https://kriptometa.com/en/fake-coinbase-texts-110270-usdt-forfeiture) in September. It concerned about 110,270 USDT traced to an account takeover. In the November case, victims sent the payments themselves believing they were investing. The Massachusetts office asks anyone who believes they fell victim to crypto fraud to contact USAMA.CyberTip@usdoj.gov. In a [February 14, 2024 FBI recording](https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/inside-the-fbi-romance-scams-revisited-021424.mp4/view), Supervisory Special Agent David Harding says his team has had more success recovering money when victims report the crime early.