The U.S. Department of Justice recently sent a message that it has recently struggled to capture $225 million in cryptocurrency, linked to the pig slaughter: the funds were stolen from victims.
At least, it’s the harvest of Phil Selden, a member of Cole Schotz PC and a former attorney for the District of Maryland.
this The Justice Department has moved to catch these funds A motion forfeiture was passed last month, although no one accused of stealing funds has been publicly identified.
But that’s the point, Selden said.
“This is a resting case,” Selden said. “We have victims on the streets of the United States and the department made it clear that they don’t want to wait for arrests to ensure that the cryptocurrency is actually seized.”
Selden said that tone was for the direction of the Justice Department, Matthew Galeotti, the new head of the criminal department. Selden describes Galeotti as an experienced and organized prosecutor who once defeated New York’s toughest organized crime ring.
Selden says Galeotti
“It’s not just a technical story or a financial story,” he continued. “It’s a story about families losing their savings, and towns losing their banks.”
That small town bank is the Heartland Tri-State Bank of Kansas-based agricultural lender That becomes non-flowing After its CEO Shan Hanes, it went bankrupt in 2023, embezzled nearly $50 million and moved funds to crypto wallets in the direction of pig slaughter.
Hans is also the biggest victim of Justice complaints.
“In Hong Kong or Shanghai, New York or San Francisco, there is a financial institution in every corner. In Kansas, there is no,” Selden said. “If you don’t have a good bank and it’s hard to build or maintain a business, it’s hard to get capital for that tractor or that crop cycle.”
What’s next?
Selden expects criminal charges to come, but he believes the Justice Department does not want to wait for arrests to ensure that the cryptocurrency is confiscated and can be returned to the owner.
He explained that extradition of suspects overseas was a possible path, although it was a slow and complex process that relied on mutual legal aid treaties.
Another strategy may involve inducing suspects into U.S. jurisdictions where arrests are easier to proceed, such as Guam or other U.S. territory.
Even without arrests, extradition and a high-profile trial, Selden believes the case has been done. It sent a message to the victims that their losses were valued.
“Crypto crime is not abstract; it’s not offshore,” Selden said. “It affects real people, real communities and the Justice Department, and hopes Americans know that this has their support.”
