Thai Businessmen Sue Tether for Freezing $42M in $61M Pig Butchering Case
English | News | Markets | Magazine | Research | Commissioned | About |
DOGE: $0.08335 (2.73%)
TRX: $0.3279 (1.26%)
LINK: $11.38 (3.08%)
ZEC: $845.23 (5.29%)
ADA: $0.2083 (6.70%)
XRP: $1.38 (4.08%)
ETH: $2,417.96 (1.37%)
BTC: $78,540.62 (2.18%)
XMR: $513.10 (0.68%)
BNB: $713.02 (4.14%)
XLM: $0.1788 (3.36%)
SOL: $101.48 (3.23%)
HYPE: $82.68 (1.71%)
Written by: Zoltan Vardai, staff writer
Reviewed by: Robert Lakin, staff editor
Thai businessmen sue Tether for freezing $42M in $61M pig butchering case
Latest News
Published: Sep 2, 2026
Two Thai businessmen have sued stablecoin issuer Tether in a New York district court, claiming it illegally froze $42.4 million in Tether USDt (USDT) in October, as part of a broader case tied to a pig butchering scheme.
In a Monday court filing, the plaintiffs argued that Tether froze the $42 million without a warrant in October 2025, following an informal request from US Homeland Security Investigations. Authorities in the Eastern District of North Carolina only issued a seizure warrant for the funds later in February 2026, as part of a $61 million pig butchering case.
While the plaintiffs acknowledged their involvement in the investment scam, the lawsuit challenges Tether’s authority to freeze funds. It also seeks to have the funds unfrozen and potential punitive damages awarded.
"The complaint is NOT denying that the government claims these coins are scam proceeds. It is saying Tether locked secondary-market holders first, kept earning Treasury yield on the reserves, and only later received a warrant that still does not, in plaintiffs’ view, authorize a private issuer to freeze, burn, or reissue their tokens,"
explained corporate and intellectual property attorney Ariel Givner in a Wednesday X post.
In a separate case in February, a dual national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis was sentenced to 20 years in prison for orchestrating a $73 million pig butchering scam.
Related:
- Lazarus Group-linked addresses move $30M through Hyperliquid
- Subscribe to daily byte-sized crypto news from Cointelegraph
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
Scams | Hackers | Hacks | Law | Court | Thailand | Tether | Stablecoin | Scams & Cybercrime