Binance Escapes $8M Tinder Lawsuit: ‘Pig Butchering’ Laid to Rest

Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchange have been let off the hook from a lawsuit relating to an online “pig butchering” scam.

The scammer robbed a woman in Texas of the sum of $8 million by a man she met on the dating app, Tinder.

Initially, the company was blamed for the theft. According to the plaintiff, Binance aided and abetted the theft.

This came as a win for the crypto exchange company on May 22, as Amos Mazzant, United States District Judge, ruled that there is no evidence tieing Binance to these allegations which involved a Texas woman.

According to a filing, Divya Gadasalli was promised romance and financial prosperity by a man going by “Jerry Bulasa” on Tinder.

Binance in the Picture

The plaintiff filed a complaint in March 2022 against Binance and several other defendants including TD Bank, Abacus Federal Savings Banka and Poloniex Exchange.

According to Gadasalli, Binance was considered to be involved because it was the platform used by the scammer to receive the payment.

She further added that Biannce and Binance.US are under the same umbrella and should be taken into account because the scammers used VPNs (virtual private networks) to access the exchange.

FBI Las Vegas

2023-05-23 22:09

What is Pig Butchering? Has there been an increase in this scam? How do scammers build a relationship with victims? How do they convince someone to send money or invest in cryptocurrency? What do you do if you become a victim? Learn more from SSA Umphress tonight on @FOX5Vegas. https://t.co/QSAnu3XFuc

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However, Judge Mazzant rules that there was no substantial evidence to nail Binance to this theft and could not demonstrate how the court had jurisdiction over the company.

According to Mazzant:

“According to the reported facts, the allegedly stolen money would eventually be changed using Binance into a cryptocurrency, but there is no evidence that Texas was engaged in those transactions.”

Binance is still in Crosshairs with Regulators

While this is a little win for Binance, the crypto exchange is still facing challenges with crypto regulators.

In March, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) initiates legal action against Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao, citing alleged trading violations, market manipulations, and various other misconduct.

Additionally, according to CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam, exchange executives willfully violated American commodity regulations.

Due to a decision made by its third-party payments supplier Cuscal, Binance’s Australian branch recently stated it would stop allowing Australian dollar withdrawals and deposits by bank transfer.

The same day, Cuscal made a different remark in which he alluded to the effects of “scams and fraud” involving “account fraud, ID takeover, and crypto activity.” It made no mention of Binance in its declaration.

Other Exchnages that Might Have Encountered Pig Butchering

In June, pig butchering cost Silicon Valley with victims losing a combined $2.5 million to the scam.

According to the reports, scammers often shift conversations from dating apps to other encrypted messaging services such as Whatsapp.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) posits that it is a rising trend.

Final Note

Scam is not new in the crypto space nor when it comes to using dating sites. However it is imperative to note that users are required to be more careful and watchful when using these sites.