US Prosecutors File Forfeiture Action to Recover Crypto Traced From $900,000 Bitcoin Theft

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have filed a civil forfeiture complaint to recover approximately 110,270 Tether (USDT), valued at roughly $47,000, linked to a June 2023 phishing scam. The incident occurred when a victim surrendered login credentials after receiving fraudulent text messages impersonating Coinbase, resulting in the theft of 33.7 bitcoin worth about $900,000 at the time. Investigators traced 11.2 bitcoin to a Binance account where the funds were swapped into Monero and Tether. Binance froze the account following an FBI request and transferred approximately 110,270 USDT to a government-controlled wallet in August 2026.