100% either a scam or a misunderstanding since it is impossible to have a gold backed "Tether". Learn from history, have you ever heard of the "Liberty Dollar"? Warehouses full of gold get raided by the Feds. Simple conclusion: ERC20 and/or TRC20 backed by pure BS.
I believe this "Happy Waters" account is a smurf account. Nice joke btw 
Anyway, the cops raided Liberty Dollar was because of criminal activities if I recall it correctly, not because of "gold-backed" feature. People still own/trade gold certificates or similar nowadays. But, the vault is audited periodically, and the companies have excellent reputations. Not sure about this ERC20 one.