Tether froze funds identified as 42.4 million USDT across ten Ethereum addresses on 30.10.2025, according to the complaint.

Plaintiffs from Thailand allege the issuer immobilised those tokens after an informal request from a law enforcement agent, without a court order.

Timeline of the freeze

The block of addresses took effect on 30.10.2025, while a formal U.S. seizure order was obtained only on 19.02.2026, more than three months later.

Plaintiffs’ assertions

The two business owners state they bought the stablecoins on secondary markets and never had a contractual relationship with Tether allowing token intervention.

They ask the court to remove the ten addresses from Tether’s blacklist, to forbid burning the frozen tokens, and to require replacement issuance to a government wallet.

Related Justice Department matter

The complaint links the frozen funds to a U.S. Department of Justice case concerning about $61 million allegedly obtained through romance scams and fake investment platforms.

Plaintiffs also seek recovery of any income Tether derived from reserves backing the affected tokens until the court reaches a decision on remedies.

"A stablecoin in your wallet is not your money, but a ledger entry at the issuer that can be extinguished externally on a caller's request."

The complaint presents these factual claims for judicial review; the court will determine whether the issuer’s actions complied with applicable law and contractual obligations.