USSS Seizures for Forfeiture

The United States Secret Service (USSS) does seize property for forfeiture as part of their mission to investigate financial and cybercrimes against the United States financial system.

The USSS has the authority to seize property under federal asset forfeiture laws, particularly those related to crimes they investigate. Their forfeiture actions primarily focus on assets connected to:

• Counterfeiting and Financial Fraud –
  • The USSS investigates crimes involving counterfeit U.S. currency, bonds, and other financial instruments.
•  Electronic and Cybercrime –
  • The USSS seized assets related to credit card fraud, wire and bank fraud, network intrusions, ransomware, and money laundering schemes. Those seizure might target bank accounts, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets.
• Other Financial Crimes –
  • The USSS seizes assets in cases involving identity theft, access device fraud (e.g., fraudulent use of debit and credit cards), and schemes that exploit public assistance programs.

When seizing property for forfeiture, the USSS must follow specific legal procedures including issuing a “notice of seizure” to the property owner within 60 days (or 90 days if a local or state agency initiated the action).

The notice of seizure issued by the USSS outlines the legal basis for the seizure and provides instructions on how to contest the forfeiture. Property owners and other claimants can then file a claim to challenge the government’s action in federal court.

USSS Seizures of Cryptocurrency for Forfeiture

USSS Special Agents conduct investigations into frauds involving cryprocurrency. As a result, they often target cryptocurrency for seizure and forfeiture. In financial crime investigations, including those conducted by the U.S. Secret Service, cryptocurrency might be seized for one of the following violations:

• 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Wire Fraud)
• 18 U.S.C. § 1349 (Attempt and Conspiracy)
• 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (Money Laundering)
• 18 U.S.C. § 1957 (Monetary Transactions in Criminally Derived Property)

For example, when the USSS seizes USDT, it might target Tether deposit addresses pursuant to a seizure warrant approved by a United States Magistrate Judge for the appropriate district court. After the seizure, the Defendant Property might remains in the custody of the United States Secret Service (“USSS”).

Special Agents with the United States Secret Service conduct investigations that might result in the seizure of valuable property including cryptocurrency. The USSS Special Agent might prepare an affidavit based on information from the official files and records of the United States, statements from other law enforcement officers, and their investigation of this case.

Special Agents with the United States Secret Service (USSS) investigate violations of federal laws, including violations of Title 18 of the United States Code, specifically those related to the passing of counterfeit United States currency, money laundering, and wire fraud. Many USSS Special Agents recieve criminal investigative training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, and at the James J. Rowley Secret Service Training Center in Beltsville, Maryland, pertaining to criminal investigations of counterfeit currency, bank fraud, money laundering, wire fraud, access device fraud, and identity theft.

During their employment with the USSS, they conduct investigations resulting in the arrest of suspects and seizures of criminally derived property.

USSS Special Agents are investigative and law enforcement officer of the United States, in that they are empowered by law to conduct investigations and to make arrests for felony offenses, under authority of 18 U.S.C. § 3056.

USSS Special Agents target property, including cryptocurrency such as USDT issued by Tether in a Tron Wallet for civil asset forfeiture proceedings. The USSS Special Agent might alleged the funds to be forfeited represent proceeds of a fraud scheme. For example, the USSS Special Agent might alleged the seized cryptocurrency is subject to forfeiture to the United States pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(A) because the property was involved in or traceable to property involved in money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C §§ 1956 or 1957, or constitutes proceeds from a specified unlawful activity (as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1956(c)(7) and 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1)).

In many of these cases, the complaint will allege that a USSS Special Agents began an investigation of a criminal money laundering syndicate operating a scam. For example, the investigation might show the victim sent funds to a bank account, the funds are laundered through additional accounts and are eventually sent to a cryptocurrency exhange where the fiat currency is exchanged for cryptocurrency. Once the cryptocurrency is initially purchased, it is further laundered through a series of transactions and conversions in an attempt to obsfucate the original source of the funds.

Law enforcement personnel in the USSS work with cryptocurrency exchanges to identify the account holders receiving these proceeds and further trace the proceeds to addtional cryptocurrency deposit addresses.

The USSS Special Agent might obtain records related to a cryptocurrency account via subpoena. The records might indicate when the account was opened and by whom. The account opening records might include a copy of the account holder’s driver’s license, government issued identification card, or passport.

USSS personnel who are trained and experienced in blockchain tracing, utilized blockchain analysis tools to review the transactions between hosted and unhosted wallet addresses.

This article was last updated on Thursday, September 11, 2025.