# U.S. Prosecutors Seek $84.2 Million in Tether-Linked Funds

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/24276
Published: 2026-09-25T21:29:18.000Z
Updated: 2026-09-25T21:29:18.000Z
Section: Regulation

> The civil forfeiture case targets cash and USDT tied to Capstone Ltd., a Montana payments firm that prosecutors allege moved money without required licenses.

U.S. prosecutors are seeking to permanently seize about $84.2 million in cash and cryptocurrency linked to Capstone Ltd., a Montana payments firm that prosecutors allege moved money without required licenses.

A civil forfeiture complaint filed July 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California lists $79.11 million in a Wells Fargo Securities account, $1.86 million in another Wells Fargo account and $2.06 million at JPMorgan Chase. It also targets about 1.17 million USDT held at two cryptocurrency addresses.

The property is tied to EQIBank, a Dominica-licensed bank that processed wire transfers connected with Tether’s purchases and redemptions of USDT. EQIBank said about $89 million, or roughly 80% of its monetary holdings, had been seized and warned that losing the funds could force liquidation.

Tether said it had no knowledge of the conduct alleged against Capstone. The company also said its assets held at EQIBank represented less than 0.034% of group assets. With Tether reporting $187.75 billion in group assets as of June 30, that ceiling implies exposure of less than about $63.8 million, although no exact balance was disclosed.

The court denied EQIBank’s motion to return the property on July 16. The forfeiture case remains unresolved, and no final judgment has determined ownership of the funds.