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DOJ seeks forfeiture of $327K in USDT linked to romance scam

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DOJ seeks forfeiture of $327K in USDT linked to romance scam

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts filed a civil forfeiture action Monday seeking to recover 327,829.72 USDT, allegedly involved in a money laundering scheme connected to an online romance scam.

Summary

  • DOJ is seeking to recover approximately $327,829 in USDT linked to a romance fraud and money-laundering scheme.
  • Investigators say the stolen funds were routed through intermediary wallets and converted to stablecoin to conceal origin.
  • The action underscores continued federal efforts to trace and reclaim crypto assets to return them to defrauded Americans.

Justice Department targets crypto laundering in online romance scam

The complaint, filed in federal court, names the cryptocurrency as defendant property and seeks its forfeiture under federal law as proceeds of fraud and laundering.

According to the complaint, the stolen funds originated from a Massachusetts resident who was targeted in late 2024 on a dating app. The fraudster, identified only by an alias, convinced the victim to send funds for purported cryptocurrency investments that never existed.

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Rather than investing the money, the scammers diverted it through a series of cryptocurrency wallets and ultimately converted it to USDT, a common tactic to obfuscate the origin and movement of illicit proceeds.

Several of the wallets in question were seized by law enforcement in August 2025 after blockchain analysis traced connections to the scam.

Under U.S. civil forfeiture law, property traceable to illegal activity may be seized by the government and ultimately returned to victims if the court finds it to be proceeds of crime. The Justice Department’s action allows third parties with a legitimate interest in the property to file claims before any forfeiture is finalized.

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Prosecutors said the forfeiture complaint is part of broader efforts to target online frauds, including romance scams, investment schemes, and cyber-enabled financial crime that increasingly leverage cryptocurrency to move and hide funds.

The case highlights both the growing sophistication of crypto-related fraud and law enforcement’s expanding use of blockchain analysis to trace and reclaim stolen digital assets for fraud victims.

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Crypto World

Visa and Stripe’s Bridge Expand Global Stablecoin Card Program

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Visa and Stripe's Bridge Expand Global Stablecoin Card Program

Global payment giant Visa is expanding its stablecoin card partnership with Stripe-owned Bridge, expanding the rollout of stablecoin-linked Visa cards worldwide and testing onchain settlement.

Visa and Bridge are expanding their joint card program to 18 countries, with plans to reach more than 100 across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East by the end of the year, according to a Tuesday announcement.

The expansion follows the program’s initial launch in April 2025, which first supported markets in Latin America, including Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Chile.

In addition to the expansion, the companies are testing stablecoin settlement through Visa’s pilot program, enabling issuers and acquirers to settle transactions using stablecoins rather than fiat.

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The move highlights the ongoing stablecoin race in the payments industry, with Mastercard recently enabling stablecoin card spending in the US via the self-custodial crypto wallet MetaMask.

Onchain support enabled through Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank

When the card program launched in 2025, transactions were processed by Bridge, deducting funds from the customer’s stablecoin balance and converting them into fiat, allowing merchants to receive payment in local currency like any other card transaction.

Under the new collaboration, enabled by independent commercial bank Lead Bank, settlement is now set to occur directly in stablecoins.

Bridge received conditional approval from a US regulator to become a national trust bank in mid-February. Source: Bridge

“Now, through Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank, these card transactions can be settled onchain with Visa,” the announcement noted.

“Visa is committed to meeting businesses where they operate, and increasingly, that’s onchain,” Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield said. “Expanding our work with Bridge gives us one more way to bring the speed, transparency and programmability of stablecoins directly into the settlement process,” he added.

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Related: Stripe considers acquiring some or all of PayPal: Report

Additionally, Visa is evaluating potential support for Bridge-issued assets, or stablecoins created and managed using Bridge’s infrastructure platform. Unlike major stablecoins such as Tether’s USDt (USDT) or Circle’s USDC (USDC), Bridge-issued stablecoins are created programmatically by businesses rather than a third-party issuer.

“This expansion of our work with Visa will enable businesses launching their own custom stablecoins to use them seamlessly within their card programs,” Bridge co-founder and CEO Zach Abrams said.

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