This question was prompted by this article in arstechnica: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/02/tether-says-its-cryptocurrency-is-worth-2-billion-but-its-audit-failed/ Tether, https://tether.to/ claims their USDT token is backed 1 to 1 by U.S. Dollars. Yet their internal auditor, Friedman LLP, quietly quit, and there are other signs the claim is not actually true. Verification to close this question must come from a publicly available audit, criminal filings, another type of court proceeding, or proof presented or reported by mainstream press.