- A man cheated a Texan woman out of $8 million on Tinder
- She filed a complaint against Binance, Poloniex, TD Bank, Abacus
- No proof fraud occurred in Texas, Binance wasn't allowed to operate there
Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange by trading volume, has been found not guilty in a case of an online crypto scam perpetrated on Tinder, Cointelegraph wrote.
US Judge Amos Mazzant ruled there was no evidence Binance had facilitated a “pig butchering” scam, in which a man cheated a Texan woman out of $8 million on Tinder.
Crypto scams in the US reached $185 million last year. “Pig butchering” is where the perpetrator takes time to build a relationship with the victim and gains their trust, then defrauds them i.e. fattening and butchering the pig.
Plaintiff seeks relief from crypto exchanges
According to court documents, a man who went by the name “Jerry Bulasa” on Tinder promised the victim, Divya Gadasalli, “love and financial prosperity.” Ultimately, he swindled her out of more than $8 million.
In March 2022, the Texan woman filed a complaint against Binance, Poloniex, TD Bank, and Abacus Federal Savings Bank seeking injunctive relief. She accused Binance of involvement because it had provided the criminal with exchange services.
Binance was “not involved”
According to Judge Mazzant, the plaintiff’s defense team couldn’t prove Binance was “actually involved in the case.” Moreover, they couldn’t provide evidence that the court had jurisdiction over the exchange.
The judge also ruled the plaintiff could not prove the fraud occurred in Texas as Binance was not allowed to operate there.
A small victory for the exchange
Binance has been in hot water with US regulators for some time, so this outcome has been a small victory. In April, Bankless Times reported the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused Binance of “sham” compliance with US derivatives regulations.
The watchdog proceeded to file a lawsuit against the exchange for trading violations and market manipulations, among other transgressions.
Recently, the exchange’s Australian branch suspended AUD withdrawals and deposits via bank transfer after Cuscal, its third-party payments service, made this decision.
