The US Department of Justice is sending a message with its recent attempt to seize $ 225 million in Crypto, which is tied to the pig butcher scams: these funds were stolen from the victims.
At least, it is a member from Phil Selden, a member of the Cole Shotz PC and a member of the former acting American Attorney for Maryland district.
The DOJ went to seize these funds through a proposal to seize these funds last month, although it does not yet identify any person accused of stealing money publicly.
But this is, Selden said.
“This is a tone-setting case,” Selden said, who is now a member of the Law firm Coal Shotz PC. “We have suffering on American roads, and the department clarified that they really did not want to wait for an arrest to ensure that Crypto was actually seized.”
This tone, Celden, said, “Matthew Geloti, the new head of his criminal division, determines the direction for the Department of Justice. Celden described Galoti as an experienced, methodical prosecutor, used to take down the rings of New York’s most difficult organized crime.
Geloti, Celden, said, it understands how criminal networks carry money, how they exploit weak regulatory structure, and most importantly how they hurt people everyday
“This is not just a technical story or a finance story,” he continued. “This is a story about families losing their savings and small towns that lose their banks.”
It was the Chhota Town Bank Hartland Tri-State Bank, a Kansas-based agricultural lender It became immoral And in 2023, after his CEO, Shaan Hans, embezzled a $ 50 million and the funds in the Crypto wallet transferred the funds to the direction of the pig butcher scammer.
Hans was also the biggest victim in the DOJ complaint.
“In Hong Kong or Shanghai or New York or San Francisco, there is a financial institution on every corner. In Kansas, there is not,” Selden said. “If you do not have a good bank, it is difficult to make or maintain business, it is difficult to get capital for that tractor or that crop cycle.”
what comes next?
Celden estimated that criminal charges are on the horizon, but they feel that DOJ would not want to wait for the arrest to seize Crypto and return to his owners.
Extradition of foreign suspects is a possible way, they explained, although it is a slow and complex process that depends on mutual legal aid treaties.
Another strategy may involve wooing suspects in American courts where arrest is easy to carry out, such as Guam or other American regions.
Even without arrest, extradition and high-profile tests, Celden believes that the case has already done its job. This sends a message to the victims that their loss is being taken seriously.
“Crypto crime is not abstract; it is not offshore,” said Celden. “It is influenced by real people, real communities and justice department, Americans want to know that it has a back.”
