US Authorities Seek to Recover $327K USDt from Romance Fraud Scheme

The US Justice Department is seeking to recover about $327,829 worth of stablecoins allegedly connected to a money laundering scheme part of an online romance scam.

In a Monday notice, the US Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts said it had filed a civil forfeiture action to recover more than 327,829 of Tether’s USDt (USDT). According to authorities, the funds were tied to an alleged online romance fraud scheme perpetrated by an individual named “Linda Brown” which targeted a Massachusetts resident starting in 2024. 

“Some of the victim’s funds were traced to multiple unhosted cryptocurrency wallets, which were seized in August 2025,” said the Justice Department. “The complaint alleges that all cryptocurrency associated with those wallets was property involved in money laundering.”

The notice of the romance scam came about three weeks after people in many countries celebrated Valentine’s Day. The US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio issued a warning before the holiday about romance scams, informing people not to “send money, gift cards, or cryptocurrency to someone you have not met in person.”

Related: February crypto losses hit lowest level since March 2025, says PeckShield

Cointelegraph reached out to Tether for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Tether froze $4.2 billion tied to illicit activity in previous three years

On Friday, a spokesperson for the stablecoin issuer reportedly told Reuters that Tether had frozen about $4.2 billion worth of USDt connected to suspected criminal activity since 2023.

The company has the ability to freeze its stablecoin by blacklisting certain wallet addresses. For example, Tether reported in February that it had frozen about $544 million allegedly tied to unlawful betting platforms and money laundering at the request of Turkish authorities.