Kansas Banker’s $47M Crypto Scam Tied to DOJ’s Record USDT Seizure

A Kansas banker who looted $47 million from Heartland Tri-State Bank in 2023 lost a major chunk of the funds to an international crypto scam, according to a new Department of Justice (DOJ) complaint. The DOJ has filed a civil forfeiture action to seize over $225 million in laundered USDT tied to a large-scale pig butchering scam operated out of the Philippines.

Shan Hanes, former CEO of the now-defunct Heartland bank, sent 10 wire transfers totaling $47.1 million to a crypto wallet he controlled between May and July 2023. The transactions went unnoticed as they occurred between regulatory reporting periods. The loss ultimately drained the bank’s liquidity and led to its collapse, forcing regulators to shut it down in July.

According to the DOJ, the scammers used 93 deposit addresses and over 100 intermediary wallets to obscure the source of funds, eventually funneling the crypto into 22 main accounts on OKX, a crypto exchange that cooperated with authorities. These funds were further dispersed across 122 linked accounts using shared IP addresses and fake KYC documents. The laundering operation reportedly handled $3 billion in transaction volume.

The scam was allegedly run by ITECHNO Specialist Inc., a Manila-based call center operation. Hanes was the scam’s biggest known victim, losing $3.3 million in traceable funds. He also stole from a local church, investment club, his daughter’s college fund, and other entities to fund the scheme. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2024.

The seized crypto, mostly in USDT, is expected to be added to a federal crypto reserve under development by the U.S. Treasury, as directed by President Trump. Victim restitution remains uncertain, as most victims have yet to be identified.