US prosecutors seize nearly $84 million tied to Capstone over alleged fraud

US prosecutors have seized nearly $84 million from bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets tied to Capstone, a Montana payments firm linked to Tether. Reuters reported that the civil forfeiture targets Capstone, a money services business that allegedly posed as an information technology company to open accounts at major banks. Reuters reported that Capstone allegedly used those accounts while moving money for crypto firms. Court filings say Capstone, registered in Montana, processed payments for two crypto companies through a bank in Dominica. Prosecutors allege that Capstone also ran a scheme that converted fraud proceeds into cryptocurrency by impersonating FBI agents. A lawyer for Capstone told Reuters that the firm denies wrongdoing and plans to challenge the complaint. According to a July filing first reported by The Information, nearly $81 million was seized from Capstone accounts at Wells Fargo. The July filing records about $2 million seized from an account at JPMorgan Chase. The July filing also records roughly $1.2 million worth of Tether's dollar-pegged token seized. Tether said it was a customer of the bank in Dominica. Tether said its assets at that bank were limited. A Tether spokesperson said Tether had no knowledge of the conduct by Capstone alleged by the Department of Justice. The Justice Department did not allege wrongdoing by Tether or the other firms involved. Spokespeople for Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase declined to comment. Tether issues USDT, a dollar-pegged cryptocurrency used to move value on crypto networks.