Lawsuit Targets Global ‘Pig Butchering’ Scam: Woman Seeks Recovery of $210K in Cryptocurrency

On Monday, August 26, 2024, Alona Austria filed a complaint in the US District Court for the Central District of California against an individual known only as “Defendant 1” and ten unnamed individuals related to the theft of her cryptocurrency assets.

According to the complaint, Austria fell victim to an international “pig butchering” scam in which scammers based in Southeast Asia gained the trust of victims over many months before stealing their cryptocurrency investments. She met Defendant 1 on a dating website in early 2023, and he claimed he could teach her how to successfully trade cryptocurrencies. He showed examples of high returns and directed her to a website he said was owned by a major exchange.

However, the website was allegedly a fake replica designed to steal users’ funds. Defendant 1 had Austria do a test transfer which she was able to retrieve, gaining her trust. Over several months, she sent a total of about 92 ether and 41,000 tether tokens, then worth around $210,000, to accounts on the fake site. Fraudulent returns and statements made it seem her investment was growing in value.

When Austria tried to withdraw funds, she faced issues and was told she needed to send additional money to pay taxes before withdrawals. Realizing it was a scam, she was unable to retrieve any of her tokens. Austria’s lawyers retained cryptocurrency tracing experts who identified the digital wallets and exchanges where her stolen funds were ultimately transferred, including addresses at Binance, Crypto.com, Gate.io, and Eigenfx.

The five-count complaint alleges violations of federal racketeering laws as well as conversion, unjust enrichment, and conspiracy. It seeks damages, trebled under RICO, disgorgement of funds, and imposition of a constructive trust over assets tied to the defendants.

Austria’s lawyers stated she brought the suit to recover her stolen funds and demonstrate the growing harms of sophisticated global cryptocurrency theft schemes.

Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.