DOJ Seizes $225M in Landmark Crypto Forfeiture—Disgraced CEO Shan Hanes’ Scam Unravels
The U.S. Department of Justice just dropped a financial bomb on crypto fraud—filing a massive $225 million civil forfeiture case tied to disgraced CEO Shan Hanes' alleged scam operation.
Justice bites back
Federal prosecutors aren't playing nice with crypto criminals anymore. This forfeiture action—one of the largest in crypto history—signals regulators are finally bringing teeth to digital asset enforcement.
The irony? Hanes probably thought his 'genius' Ponzi scheme was too Web3 for old-school regulators to trace. Guess those blockchain breadcrumbs weren't so anonymous after all.
Wall Street's watching
While traditional finance snickers at crypto's latest black eye, smart money's noticing: the DOJ just proved it can follow the money—even through decentralized ledgers. That compliance headache just got migrained.
One thing's clear—when the feds start seizing Lambo money, the 'wild west' crypto days might finally be over. Or at least getting a very expensive timeout.
BREAKING: Kansas banker Shan Hanes, who stole $47M from Heartland Tri-State Bank, lost millions to overseas crypto scammers in a DOJ-busted $225M USDT laundering scheme.
• DOJ ties scam to
call center
• OKX helped trace 200+ wallets
• Bank collapsed in 2023
• Hanes… pic.twitter.com/X6Atn9znlO
— CryptoAI (@QCryptoAI) June 19, 2025
All OKX accounts were linked through shared IP addresses, reusable KYC documents, traced to a Manila-based crypto scam centre – ITECHNO Specialist Inc.
The DoJ has estimated an astronomical $3 billion in transaction volume generated by this Manila-based laundering network.
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Hans Referred to Both as a Perpetrator and a Victim
According to the DoJ complaint, Hanes embezzled millions from the Heartland Tri-State Bank from 30 May to 7 July 2023, a period that falls between the bank’s quarterly regulatory reporting cycles, to avoid detection. In this time frame, Hanes initiated 10 wire transfers amounting to a little over $47.1 million.
The complaint also takes into account the Federal Reserve’s (FED) report on the collapse of the Heartland Tri-State Bank. The regulatory body found a total of 434 victims of the crypto scam, with 60 victims losing a combined value of $19.4 million, approximately.
Heartland Tri-State Bank, which held $13.7 million in capital and $139 million in assets, had its liquidity affected by Hanes’s actions, which caused the bank to initiate an emergency borrowing worth $21 million.
As a result, the bank was left with a giant $35 million hole in its coffers and was shut down by the regulators in July 2023.
Additionally, as earlier reported by CNN, Hanes also stole $40,000 from the Elkhart Church of Christ, $10,000 from the Santa Fe Investment Club, $60,000 from his daughter’s college fund and finally, almost $1 million in stocks from the finance firm, Elkhart Financial.
In August 2024, the court sentenced Hanes to 24 years in prison. Meanwhile, the DoJ has named him both the perpetrator and a victim of this particular pig butchering scam.
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Crypto Scam Assets Headed for FED Holdings
While the Bitcoin reserve and the stockpile of other cryptocurrencies are not yet in place, the seized USDT is highly likely to end up in the FED’s crypto stockpile.
The Treasury Department has been auditing the US government’s digital asset holdings to determine cryptocurrencies and various other digital assets that it needs to hold.
Since officials have recovered only a small percentage of those affected by the scam, total compensation to the victims from the seized USDT remains uncertain.
Key Takeaways
- Shan Hanes lost $3.3M from his embezzled $47M to a pig butchering scam
- Scammers reshuffled stolen funds in two phases linked to a total of 144 OKX accounts
- Investigators traced all OKX accounts to a compound in Manila, Philippines
