The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 59-year-old Venezuelan national Jorge Figueira with conspiracy to launder at least $1 billion in criminal proceeds, primarily using Tether’s USDT stablecoin on the Tron blockchain. Court documents unsealed in January 2026 describe the operation as posing “a profound threat to financial systems and public safety” due to its massive scale. Figueira allegedly received illicit funds in USDT, routed them through multiple crypto wallets, and converted them to US dollars via liquidity providers for deposit into American bank accounts.
Federal investigators traced approximately $1 billion moving through digital wallets linked to Figueira and his network, distributing funds to individuals and businesses worldwide, including destinations from Colombia to China. The scheme involved handling up to $700 million monthly, with Figueira reportedly boasting he could process $100 million in a single wallet transaction. If convicted, Figueira faces up to 20 years in prison.
Role of USDT on Tron
USDT, the world’s most-traded stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, operates across multiple blockchains, but Tron emerged as central due to its faster transaction speeds and lower fees compared to networks like Ethereum. Blockchain analysts identified the illicit movements specifically on Tron, founded by entrepreneur Justin Sun, highlighting how these attributes enable rapid, cost-effective transfers ideal for obfuscating origins. Figueira himself acknowledged in intercepted calls: “Let me be clear with you, [USDT] is used a lot for laundering money… It is used to transfer money in a quick way, even to make it get to jurisdictions that have some type of issues,” citing China as an example.
FBI Special Agent Stephen A. Walker testified that “the cryptocurrency ecosystem is often used by money launderers to receive money, and to launder it quickly, anonymously, and at scale,” noting patterns like convoluted transactions and quick swaps between wallets and traditional accounts as red flags. This case underscores Tron’s role in high-volume laundering, with over $60 billion in USDT circulating on the network, making it the second-largest stablecoin ecosystem after Ethereum.
Investigation Details
Authorities built their case through blockchain forensics, phone intercepts, and analysis of wallet activities, revealing Figueira’s network as a “money laundering as a service” operation for global criminals. Funds originated from unspecified illicit sources, funneled into Figueira’s USDT wallets on Tron, then layered through numerous transactions to liquidity providers before off-ramping to fiat. The DOJ’s Southern District of Florida unsealed the indictment, emphasizing the threat to US financial integrity.
No arrests or extradition details have been publicly confirmed as of January 18, 2026, and the DOJ has not responded to further media inquiries. Tron and Tether representatives were contacted but have not issued statements on this specific case.
Broader Context of Crypto Laundering
This indictment fits into escalating US crackdowns on cryptocurrency-enabled financial crime. Tether has frozen millions in USDT linked to illicit activity, including $182 million across five Tron wallets on January 11, 2026, in coordination with DOJ and FBI— one of its largest single-day actions. Past efforts include a $12 million Tron freeze in June 2025 for potential AML violations and sanctions risks, aligned with OFAC’s SDN list.
Tether’s T3 Financial Crime Unit, partnering with Tron DAO and TRM Labs, has frozen over $126 million in six months as of late 2025, targeting laundering services on dark web platforms. A UN report previously linked $17 billion in Tron USDT to underground exchanges, prompting enhanced analytics collaborations like with Chainalysis. Similar schemes include a 2025 DOJ seizure of $225 million in USDT from investment fraud across networks.
Implications for Regulation
The Figueira case amplifies calls for stricter oversight of stablecoins and high-speed blockchains like Tron, which facilitate anonymous, borderless transfers exploited by launderers. Regulators may intensify requirements for exchanges and issuers to implement real-time transaction monitoring and wallet blacklisting. For Tron and Tether, proactive freezes demonstrate compliance efforts, but persistent associations with crime could invite heightened scrutiny from bodies like the Treasury’s FinCEN.
Industry experts note that while tools like those from TRM Labs aid tracing, the pseudonymous nature of public ledgers remains a vulnerability. This development reinforces global AML frameworks, such as the FATF’s Travel Rule, urging crypto firms to verify transaction parties amid rising enforcement.