According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio, a Cleveland court has filed a forfeiture lawsuit for 325,060 USDT (approximately $325,000) allegedly derived from a cryptocurrency investment scam. The victims were an elderly Trumbull County resident and his sister, who suffered combined losses exceeding $1 million.

The case revealed that scammers posed as investors, establishing contact with victims via Telegram and enticing them to open accounts on Crypto.com and Strike.com. They then transferred funds to the fraudulent investment platforms. The victim and her sister invested over $1.6 million, ultimately unable to withdraw their funds. Using on-chain analysis, the FBI tracked the flow of approximately $200,000 on the Tron blockchain and, with the cooperation of Tether, froze 325,060 USDT, which were subsequently transferred to US law enforcement.

U.S. prosecutors said they will strive to return the confiscated funds to the victims. The FBI Cleveland branch is continuing to investigate related crypto scams.