PANews reported on February 25 that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern Carolina announced that federal law enforcement officers seized over $ 61 million worth of Tether ( USDT ). Law enforcement stated that these funds flowed to wallet addresses linked to " pig butchering " cryptocurrency investment scams. Scammers typically gain victims' trust under the guise of romantic relationships, inducing them to deposit funds into fake cryptocurrency trading platforms and encouraging further investment through fake high-yield accounts. When victims requested withdrawals, the scammers refused, citing reasons such as the need to pay "taxes." Once the funds were transferred to wallets controlled by the scammers, they were quickly tiered and transferred for money laundering. This operation was carried out by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations ( HSI ) after tracking the flow of funds from multiple victims, with Tether facilitating the asset transfer.