§ 01The brief
A contact from a professional networking site recommended a trading app. Over six months the client deposited $1,800,000 in USDC. When he asked to withdraw, the app asked for a 'compliance deposit'.
§ 02What I did
- 1.
Traced the USDC from his wallet to the app's deposit addresses and onward across two blockchains.
- 2.
Identified $512,000 still sitting in wallets that the stablecoin issuer can freeze, and $140,000 at a regulated exchange.
- 3.
Filed the CCS report and passed the tracing report to the issuer and exchange through law enforcement.
§ 03The outcome
The issuer froze $512,000 in USDC at the request of law enforcement. The exchange account had been emptied before the request reached it.
“I expected a sales pitch. I got a spreadsheet of where every dollar went and a plain answer about what was realistic.”