A brother and sister in Ohio have reportedly lost more than $1 million in a cryptocurrency investment scam, according to a spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The office filed a civil complaint in forfeiture against 325,060 Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency, valued at approximately $325,060, on Wednesday.
The filing follows an investigation into a scam where an elderly man from Trumbull County and his sister were defrauded of their savings through a fake investment platform, the spokesperson said.
TRENDING STORIES:
The alleged fraud started when the man got a text from an unknown number. The scammer posed as a successful investor on the Telegram platform with the username ‘Shaw Goddess.’
They reportedly convinced the victim to invest in cryptocurrencies through platforms like Crypto.com and Strike.com, the spokesperson said.
The victim was instructed to transfer his cryptocurrency assets to a fake investment platform, and he also persuaded his sister to invest more than $600,000.
The spokesperson said that when attempts were made to withdraw funds, the victim and his sister were met with obstacles, revealing the scam.
Federal investigators used “blockchain analysis” to trace approximately $200,000 of the stolen funds to a cryptocurrency address on the Tron blockchain.
The spokesperson added that the stolen cryptocurrency was converted to Tether (USDT). Tether Limited, Inc. froze the funds on Dec. 31, 2024.
A federal seizure warrant led to the transfer of the 325,060 USDT tokens to a U.S. law enforcement-controlled virtual currency wallet.
The complaint alleges that additional funds in the address are linked to other fraudulent activities and money laundering violations, the spokesperson said.
If the forfeiture is successful, the United States aims to return the stolen funds to the victims.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]