Federal prosecutors in Albany have filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize more than $12 million in Tether cryptocurrency allegedly linked to a sophisticated cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering operation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York announced the filing on September 9, describing the scheme as a targeted scam that defrauded at least 10 Mandarin-speaking women out of more than $10.3 million.
According to the complaint, scammers contacted the victims via unsolicited text messages, then built trust and persuaded them to invest through a fake trading platform called ShakepayEX—a fraudulent site designed to mimic a legitimate Canadian exchange. Once the victims deposited large sums, they were unable to withdraw funds and were met with fake excuses and demands.
Federal investigators used blockchain analysis and forensic techniques to trace the flow of stolen crypto funds, ultimately tying them to the fraudulent operation and initiating the forfeiture process…