Letitia James, the New York Attorney General, has filed a lawsuit alleging that a group of crypto fraudsters has fraudulently solicited at least $2.2 million from New Yorkers through phoney remote work agreements.
On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a new lawsuit against an alleged organization of fraudsters that targets New Yorkers seeking remote work opportunities. The lawsuit aims to recover $2.2 million in frozen stablecoins.
James’ lawsuit describes an elaborate network that enlisted victims by claiming to offer remote job possibilities before guiding them through the deposit of stablecoins into a wallet controlled by the fraudsters, despite the fact that the identities of the alleged scammers are presently unknown.
According to the victims, the deposits were essential for the completion of the task and the receipt of compensation. The lawsuit asserts that the compensation, which was purportedly to be paid in stablecoins, was never genuine. The deposits that plaintiffs were supposed to have made into their “functioning accounts” were, in reality, transferred to wallets that were owned and/or controlled by the alleged fraudsters.
According to the complaint, the alleged fraudsters have suspended nearly $2.2 million in USDT and USDC stablecoins in wallets under their control. The lawsuit is seeking to reclaim this sum, as well as legal fees and damages, and to prevent the scammers from repeating it. The lawsuit identifies numerous victims who were defrauded of $100,000 or more, including Ally, a hotel receptionist residing in Nassau County, New York, and Mell, a 31-year-old teacher from Queens.
It is important to note that James intends to serve the complaint against the purported fraudsters by airdropping an NFT into the accounts controlled by the scammers. “The Office of the Attorney General’s press release states that the services provided by NFT will provide the fraudsters with notice of the litigation by providing them with a link to a [Office of the Attorney General] website that contains all of the pleadings. No other state or federal regulator has previously employed this approach to serve a lawsuit.”
The purported fraud is comparable to other “pig-butchering” hoaxes, which experienced a substantial increase in 2024. In order to extract the maximum amount of money, the scammer frequently establishes a complex relationship with the victim in a pig-butchering scheme. The scammer frequently assumes the identity of a professional recruiter or romantic interest. Scammers frequently instruct victims to deposit additional funds in order to resolve withdrawal issues, thereby increasing their profits.
James advised all New Yorkers to exercise caution when receiving text messages from unknown senders that purport to offer employment or other opportunities, and to report any frauds to my office.
Wallets