Federal authorities in North Carolina have seized over $61 million in USDT linked to a large-scale romance scam, known as a pig-butchering scheme. The investigation revealed how scammers used emotional manipulation and fraudulent crypto investment platforms to defraud victims. By leveraging blockchain forensics, investigators traced victim deposits across multiple wallets, despite attempts to obscure the trail. The public and immutable nature of blockchain records allowed authorities to reconstruct transactions and cluster related addresses, connecting them to the broader scam network. Tether's ability to freeze tokens at specific addresses played a crucial role in preventing the funds from disappearing. This case highlights the effectiveness of blockchain transparency in combating crypto fraud and the importance of cooperation from stablecoin issuers in asset recovery efforts.