"Of course maybe they're not actually crooks and they do have the money."

Well then, an audit by competent third parties, inspecting where they got their funds, how much they actually have on hand, and whether it covers all potential liabilities (including calls on the supposedly dollar-backed tethers) would go a long way to clearing up the matter.

Bitfinex announced an audit with great fanfare early last year. They disclosed last weekend that their relationship with the auditor had "dissolved". Funny, that.

https://www.coindesk.com/tether-confirms-relationship-audito...