Security News > 2023 > April > Feds seize $112m in cryptocurrency linked to 'pig-butchering' finance scams

The US Department of Justice has seized cryptocurrency worth about $112 million from accounts linked to so-called pig butchering investment scams.

Judges in Arizona, California and Idaho authorized seizure warrants for six virtual currency accounts that prosecutors say were used to launder proceeds of the various frauds that cost victims millions of dollars after they were socially engineered into investing their savings in dodgy digicash schemes.

"Eventually, most victims are completely locked out of their accounts and lose all of their funds," the court documents state.

JZ added the funds, plus another $100,000 from his retirement account that he had previously refused to touch, and was back up to $2.8 million - until he made a withdrawal request.

JZ tried to withdraw $50,000 from his account, but was told that, due to "Blockchain congestion" he couldn't withdraw the funds unless he deposited another $99,000 to become a "VIP member" of the trading platform.

The court documents detail each victims' story, and trace the funds into the various accounts that are subject to the seizure warrant - although the latter, including wallet addresses and diagrams tracing the funds, is heavily redacted.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/04/04/fbi_pig_butchering_cryptocurrency/