North Carolina Authorities Seize $61 Million in Cryptocurrency

The US Department of Justice has announced the seizure of over $61 million in cryptocurrency, tied to a 'pig butchering' romance scam in North Carolina. This operation is part of an ongoing effort to combat cryptocurrency fraud and money-laundering schemes.

According to the DOJ, the seized funds were traced through a chain of crypto wallets controlled by criminal actors who lured victims into fraudulent crypto trading platforms. The scammers built trust with their victims through purported romantic relationships before extracting more funds from them.

The operation highlights the growing efforts of US authorities to track and reclaim digital assets used in complex fraud and money-laundering networks. In this case, investigators from Homeland Security Investigations worked with the DOJ's asset forfeiture team to identify accounts still holding significant balances subject to seizure.