Tether Sued Over $42.4M USDT Freeze Without Legal Authority

A lawsuit has been filed in the Southern District Court of New York against Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin. Two Thai businessmen, Nutthawat Rukthammachalern and Natthawat Kasamvilas, claim that Tether blacklisted their Ethereum wallets containing $42.4 million worth of USDT without any legal authority.

The alleged freeze occurred on October 30, 2025, after an unofficial request from a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent. The brothers argue that this action was taken without a warrant, subpoena, court order, or notice.

Tether has since been ordered to destroy the frozen USDT tokens and issue new ones to a government-controlled wallet as part of a broader investigation into alleged 'pig butchering' scams in North Carolina. However, the plaintiffs challenge the legality of this second warrant and Tether's control over USDT.