The Department of Justice on Wednesday asked a court to let the agency seize $225 million from a so-called “pig butchering” operation—a term that describes scams where conmen build up the trust of a victim over time, and then trick them into handing over large amounts of money.
The funds, which the crooks held in USDT stablecoins, were laundered through the crypto exchange OKX, according to the Justice Department. This is the largest-ever U.S. seizure of funds tied to crypto confidence schemes, the agency said.
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While prosecutors didn’t name a specific perpetrator in the complaint, they said the funds were linked to a “scam compound” in the Philippines. These compounds typically house large groups of workers who operate in shifts to lure victims into handing over cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin) or cash.
Many of these workers are reportedly employed by transnational criminal organizations and are often forced to work against their will, according to the United Nations.
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The DOJ was able to identify more than 430 victims after OKX alerted law enforcement to suspicious activity tied to 144 accounts on the exchange.
> “We are proud to have aided the largest-ever U.S. crypto seizure,”
> — Haider Rafique, Managing Partner and Head of Government Affairs at OKX
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One of the victims was Shan Hanes, former CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank in Kansas. In August 2024, Hanes was sentenced to 24 years in prison after stealing $47 million from the bank to invest in what he believed was a cryptocurrency opportunity—later revealed to be a scam.
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> “These schemes harm American victims, costing them billions of dollars every year,”
> — Matthew Galeotti, Head of the DOJ’s Criminal Division
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Losses from cryptocurrency scams in the U.S. have surged in recent years. According to the FBI’s annual internet crime report:
- Losses increased 66% from 2023 to 2024, reaching $9.3 billion
- Complaints more than doubled to nearly 150,000
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The most common crypto-related crime was extortion, often involving manipulated images or videos used to coerce victims into sending crypto.
The second most common was investment fraud, where criminals promise high returns in exchange for funds.
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Hanes’ case fell into this category.
> “He was the pig that was butchered,”
> wrote his lawyer during sentencing.
> “Mr. Hanes’s vulnerability to the Pig Butcher scheme caused him to make some very bad decisions, for which he is truly sorry for causing damage to the bank and loss to the stockholders.”
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Update (June 20, 2025): Added comment from OKX.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.