Circle Refuses to Assist in Recovering Fraudulent Funds, Accused of Criminal Proceedings by Wisconsin Prosecutors According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), stablecoin issuer Circle has been criminally charged by Wisconsin prosecutors for refusing to cooperate with court orders to assist in recovering funds from victims of fraud. A victim in Wisconsin was scammed out of approximately 381000 USDC. In December of last year, the court issued a warrant requiring Circle to transfer frozen assets to a law enforcement wallet, but Circle refused to execute on the grounds that it was technically impossible to destroy and reissue the tokens. The New York state prosecutor sent a letter to the US Senate accusing Circle of refusing an unconditional asset freeze request and questioning its motives for profit. Circle currently holds at least 119 million frozen USDCs that can sustainably earn interest income. Circle denies the allegations, stating that the Wisconsin court lacks jurisdiction and has reached a preliminary agreement with federal prosecutors regarding a victim compensation mechanism. Cryptocurrency tracking experts point out that Circle can achieve token destruction and reissuance by updating code, and the claim that its technology is powerless is questionable.