DOJ seeks to recover $200,000 stolen in Tinder crypto scam

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to recover $200,000 stolen by criminal elements in a crypto scam carried out on the mobile dating application Tinder. The Massachusetts US Attorney’s Office filed the civil forfeiture action to recover the funds in stablecoin Tether.

According to reports, the DOJ claimed that the funds were lost to the criminal after he lied to his victim on Tinder that he was a financial advisor who worked as a crypto investment expert. The agency mentioned that the scam had all the markings of a pig butchering scam, where scammers build trust with their victims through friendship or romantic relationships before luring them to invest in fake crypto investments. Usually, some victims realize after their first investments, while others realize after losing all their funds.

DOJ seeks to recover $200k in USDT in Tinder crypto scam

According to the DOJ affidavit supporting the forfeiture request filed this month by FBI Special Agent Hannah Wong, the unnamed victim met a man on the dating app Tinder. The man claimed his name was “Nino Martin,” which could be an alias, as these criminals refrain from giving up their real names due to the chance that they might be caught in the act. After matching with her on Tinder, the suspect asked to move things to WhatsApp, where he claimed they could talk better.

The pair moved things to WhatsApp, and they hit it off quite well. During introductions, the victim said Martin claimed to be a financial advisor who helps people make money through several crypto investments. He mentioned that he could also help her make money through crypto investments, telling her that they could make more than enough profits and be set for life. After several discussions, the victim was convinced and asked that they set up her account.

Marin told the victim that he had set up a Coinbase account for her, asking the victim to send funds into the account. A while later, he told her that he would move the funds to a separate platform called onechainnm(dot)com, but the victim accidentally told Martin that they had a balance of about $500,000 in their bank account. According to the affidavit, the victim sent $384,4133 to several unhosted wallets they believed were connected to the platform that Martin suggested.

The agency says it will attempt a civil forfeiture

The victim claimed that they never met in person, as Martin always gave several excuses that sounded genuine because of the nature of his work. On one occasion, the DOJ said Martin told her that he had to fly to Florida to give a presentation, so they couldn’t meet. However, in March 2025, the investment platform had to change its name to onechainiy(dot)com, and the victim was restricted from their Coinbase accounts due to “sending suspicious transfers.”

A while after, unknown individuals claiming to be customer service from the investment platform allegedly then gave her a way to work around Coinbase and keep investing in the platform by wiring money from their bank account to account numbers they provided. The customer service said the victim could keep investing, leading them to send $112,253 in additional funds over the next few days, around the end of March 2025.

In April, the fake customer service agents claimed the victim owed an IRS tax of $200,000, which made the victim suspicious, so she stopped sending any money. In total, the victim claimed they transferred more than $500,000 to the platform, a figure that comprised most of their savings. The crypto account connected to the scheme was seized last June. Now, the DOJ is seeking to seize and recover most of these funds. The DOJ can seize properties or earnings if it is determined to be tied to criminal activities.

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