PANews reported on March 11 that, according to Decrypt, federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit seeking to seize approximately $3.4 million in USDT, accusing it of being proceeds of cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that victims were approached through methods such as "misdirected text messages" starting in late 2024. After establishing relationships via WhatsApp and Telegram, the perpetrators directed victims to invest in an exclusive Ethereum project claimed to be backed by physical gold. In practice, victims were instructed to transfer ETH to an intermediary wallet, which was then converted into USDT and transferred to a non-custodial wallet to conceal the source and ownership of the funds.