Two Thai business owners have initiated legal proceedings against Tether in a New York court regarding the freeze of $42.4 million in USDT. The entrepreneurs claim that Tether blocked access to their funds in October 2025 without a valid court order. This action was reportedly taken in response to an informal request from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which was investigating a significant fraud operation linked to a "pig butchering" scheme that had defrauded investors of $61 million. Although the plaintiffs acknowledge the funds' association with the scam, they are challenging Tether's right to enact such a freeze without proper legal backing. An official asset seizure order was only issued later, in February 2026, by authorities in North Carolina.