The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts filed a civil forfeiture action on July 31, 2026, to recover 47,461.73111 USDT (Tether) worth approximately $47,000, alleged proceeds from an online fraud scheme in which scammers deceived victims into depositing funds into cryptocurrency ATMs. Law enforcement traced some of the funds to a cryptocurrency wallet and seized them in March 2026.
According to the complaint, a resident of Ware, Massachusetts received a pop-up window on her home computer directing her to call a customer support number. The individual who answered claimed to be a customer service representative but was actually a scammer who told the victim her bank account had been compromised. The scammer instructed her to “protect” her money by transferring funds to the government for safekeeping. Following the scammer’s directions, the victim withdrew money from her bank account and deposited it into a Bitcoin Depot cryptocurrency ATM at a gas station in Ludlow, Massachusetts. The funds were then transferred to the fraud perpetrators.
During the investigation, law enforcement identified four additional victims whose funds could be traced to the same cryptocurrency wallet used in the scheme. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carole E. Head, Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit, is prosecuting the civil forfeiture action.
Under federal law, it is illegal to use wire communications as part of a scheme to defraud or obtain money through false or fraudulent pretenses. It is also a violation of federal law to conduct a financial transaction knowing it is designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of criminal proceeds. The civil forfeiture process allows third parties to assert claims to property before it can be forfeited to the United States and returned to victims.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Field Office, announced the action. The Ludlow Police Department provided assistance. The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated this is one of several civil forfeiture actions filed seeking to forfeit cryptocurrency tied to fraud schemes targeting Massachusetts residents.
