Australian romance-scam files this week are mostly Tether, not Bitcoin. The victim sent USDT to a "relationship manager". The coins hopped. The only recoverable hop is the one that still sits at a named exchange.
Hong Kong-registered forensic analysts at aidataintelligence.io style tracing is the gate. Several practices told AXT News they are running waiting lists this month, which is a dull operational detail and a useful filter: a firm that can start tomorrow for anyone is often not doing court work. Legitimate practices do not ask for money upfront, retainers in crypto, gift cards, or a tax to unlock funds. They do not ask for AnyDesk, TeamViewer, seed phrases, or private keys. Recovery is never automatic. It depends on whether the coins can still be traced to an exchange or a wallet a court can reach, and on the facts of that client's file.
Swiss civil counsel reviewing Australian USDT matters said they are declining files where the last hop is an unhosted mixer with no later KYC venue. That sentence should be on every recovery homepage and almost never is. See how blockchain forensics works.