Mass. resident targeted in crypto scheme on Tinder, lost over $500K, feds say

"The scheme allegedly yielded 200,000.039646 of Tether cryptocurrency in proceeds, which currently have an estimated value of $200,000, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a s release. Authorities said they have been investigating the scheme since April 2025. The resident allegedly matched with a person on Tinder who identified themselves as "Nino Martin," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office."

"Martin told the victim that he was a financial advisor who could help them make money by trading cryptocurrency and suggested that they communicate via WhatsApp. The victim then created an account and, allegedly under Martin's instruction, transferred funds to a suspected fraudulent trading platform, federal prosecutors said. When these transfers were flagged as suspicious, people from the trading platform contacted the victim and instructed them on how to evade restrictions on their account."

"Before they contacted law enforcement, the victim continued to transfer funds, with approximately $504,353 transferred in total, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Some of their funds were later traced to a cryptocurrency account that was seized in June 2025. The type of plot that the victim allegedly fell for is known as a "pig-butchering" scheme, where scammers use manipulation and enticement to get funds from victims, prosecutors said."

Federal authorities have filed a civil forfeiture action seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency proceeds after a Massachusetts resident was targeted in an investment fraud scheme. The scheme allegedly yielded 200,000.039646 Tether, currently valued at about $200,000, and investigators have been probing the matter since April 2025. The victim allegedly matched with a person on Tinder identifying as "Nino Martin," who posed as a financial advisor and urged communication via WhatsApp. Under that instruction, the victim opened an account and transferred funds to a suspected fraudulent trading platform, ultimately transferring about $504,353. Some funds were traced to a cryptocurrency account seized in June 2025. Perpetrators are often located overseas.

Read at Boston.com