Lawsuit challenges Tether over alleged pre-warrant freeze of $42.4 million USDT

# Lawsuit challenges Tether over alleged pre-warrant freeze of $42.4 million USDT

> Evidence tier: B1
> Evidence type: Independent digital-asset report on allegations in a U.S. federal civil complaint
> Source: [CoinDesk](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/09/02/tether-sued-over-usd42-4-million-usdt-freeze-allegedly-made-months-before-u-s-warrant)
> Published: 2026-09-02
> Captured: 2026-09-02T12:38:38.555Z

## Source summary

CoinDesk reports that plaintiffs Nutthawat Rukthammachalern and Natthawat Kasamvilas filed a U.S. federal civil complaint alleging Tether blacklisted 42,417,785.62 USDT across 10 Ethereum addresses on October 30, 2025, months before an Eastern District of North Carolina seizure warrant dated February 19, 2026. The complaint was filed August 31 in the Southern District of New York; the allegations have not been adjudicated.

## Why it matters

The case puts issuer control over stablecoin addresses, asset-freeze procedure and due-process questions under judicial scrutiny. It does not establish that Tether acted unlawfully or that the plaintiffs own recoverable funds. The reported amount is the balance alleged in the complaint, not a court-awarded loss, settlement or payment volume.

## Key numbers

- **USDT allegedly blacklisted:** 42,417,785.62 USDT
- **Ethereum addresses named:** 10
- **Alleged blacklist and warrant dates:** October 30, 2025; February 19, 2026

## Topics and entities

- Industry lane: Web3 & stablecoin payments
- Entities: Tether / Nutthawat Rukthammachalern / Natthawat Kasamvilas
- Web3 payments
- Payment infrastructure

## Evidence and credibility note

CoinDesk independently reports the contents of a civil complaint. Parties, dates and amounts are allegations attributed to the plaintiffs; liability, ownership and recovery have not been adjudicated.

Date evidence: CoinDesk JSON-LD datePublished: September 2, 2026; complaint described as filed August 31, 2026

## First-party corroboration

No directly corresponding A1 company announcement is currently linked.

## Original-source traceback

[Open the original CoinDesk report](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/09/02/tether-sued-over-usd42-4-million-usdt-freeze-allegedly-made-months-before-u-s-warrant)

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This is a structured Payments Hot Markdown source summary derived from external reporting. Use the original link above to read the publisher's article; copyright remains with the original publisher.