On Friday, October 9, 2026, the United States filed a complaint in federal court in Seattle seeking forfeiture of about 442,534 USDT, a dollar-linked cryptocurrency that investigators say is connected to a work-from-home fraud scheme and related money laundering.
The civil action, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, names the cryptocurrency itself as the defendant. It was formerly associated with an Ethereum address beginning 0xb1A741CF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Krista K. Bush signed the filing, and FBI Special Agent Andrew Cropcho verified its facts under penalty of perjury.
According to the complaint, the FBI executed a seizure warrant on or about February 20, 2026. Tether, the company that manages USDT, reissued the tokens into a government-controlled wallet on or about June 4, 2026. The U.S. Marshals Service holds the funds, which the filing values at roughly $442,506 at the time of transfer.
The government alleges the money is tied to schemes in which victims were recruited online for remote jobs, such as rating products or promoting merchandise. Participants were told to deposit their own cryptocurrency to unlock more tasks or higher account levels. They were later unable to withdraw either their purported earnings or their deposits, the complaint says.
Investigators identified three victims. One, identified by the initials V.M., lives in the Western District of Washington. She was approached in December 2025 by someone posing as a recruiter for a company called IAMOTA and sent about 64 ether, worth roughly $198,000, over two weeks. A Texas resident, T.A., reported losing about $147,000 to a platform called FriendBuy. A third victim, F.Z., said she lost about $40,000 to a company called ScaleBay.
Using a method known as the Lowest Intermediate Balance Rule, investigators traced about $62,179 in victim funds, roughly 14 percent of the seized total, to the address. The complaint says the money moved quickly through multiple intermediary addresses, was combined with other funds, swapped from ether to USDT on a decentralized exchange, and split among anonymous accounts at the Poloniex exchange. Those accounts were registered with an anonymous email service, according to the filing.
The complaint acknowledges that no identified victim funds from F.Z. were traced into the address. It argues that similarities in how the funds moved indicate all three victims were targeted by the same actor or group, and that the remaining balance is therefore forfeitable.
The government is seeking forfeiture under federal statutes covering proceeds of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as property involved in money laundering. It asks the court to issue an arrest warrant for the cryptocurrency, direct notice to interested parties to show cause why it should not be forfeited, and enter a judgment forfeiting it to the United States.
The filing states that forfeiture would help victims recover funds and deter criminal activity.
Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.
Be the first to comment