Rebecca C. Lutzko United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio has initiated a civil complaint in forfeiture against 679,981.22 Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency. This digital currency is suspected to have been fraudulently obtained through an investment scam. The USDT amount, valued at $679,981.22, corresponds to a 1:1 ratio with the U.S. dollar.
Court documents reveal that on July 22, 2024, a woman using the alias “Kristina Tian” contacted a victim from Solon, Ohio via LinkedIn. Their conversation moved to WhatsApp where Tian discussed her successes in cryptocurrency to engage the victim's interest. The victim, who already had a Kraken exchange account, shared screenshots of his investments and transferred approximately $500,000 into his Kraken account before transferring it to what turned out to be a fraudulent investment platform.
The FBI intervened during this process and informed the victim about the ongoing investigation into investment fraud schemes. Upon confrontation via WhatsApp, Tian mocked the victim with messages such as “I feel for you. But thank you for you giving me half of your savings,” and “Lol, I enjoyed it and thank you for the money so I can find more.”
Another victim was identified in Arizona; she met a man on a dating app called “Coffee Meets Bagel.” After building trust through messaging, he suggested investing in cryptocurrencies. She invested $63,000 through Crypto.com into another fraudulent platform recommended by him.
Investigators used blockchain analysis to trace stolen funds from both victims to two cryptocurrency addresses on the Tron blockchain. The stolen currency was converted into USDT virtual currency.
The complaint filed on June 2, 2025 seeks forfeiture of the entire 679,981.22 USDT cryptocurrency amounting from these fraudulent activities. It alleges that funds exceeding victims’ losses are also proceeds of fraud and involved in money laundering violations.
These claims are currently allegations requiring proof by preponderance of evidence by the United States government.
If successful in this action, efforts will be made to return stolen funds to victims.
This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James L. Morford for Northern District of Ohio as part of an initiative against cryptocurrency fraud scams across the United States including Northern District of Ohio.
For reporting fraudulent conduct involving older adults contact National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or visit FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
