Tagged: department of justice

Celsius Network, Founder Alex Mashinsky and Former CRO Criminally Charged with Fraud, Mashinsky Arrested

Alex Mashinsky Arrested Today. The founder and former CEO of Celsius Network, Alex Mashinsky, and the former Chief Revenue Officer of Celsius, Roni Cohen-Pavon have been charged by the US Department of Justice with defrauding customers and manipulating the market for the Celsius token. Celsius… Read More

Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon Facing Major Criminal Charges from Prosecutors in the US

  After trying to evade law enforcement for around six months, Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon has now been taken into police custody in Montenegro. Kwon and Terraform Labs were responsible for TerraUSD, an aspiring algorithmic stablecoin, and sister crypto Luna, which collapsed last year… Read More

DOJ: IRS Gains Court Order to Pursue Taxpayers Who Failed to Pay Taxes on Crypto

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the tax authority of the US, has received a Court Order to be able to summons records pertaining to US taxpayers who may have failed to report and pay taxes on crypto transactions. According to the Department of Justice… Read More

OpenSea Comments on Insider Trading of NFTs

This past week it was reported that the US Department of Justice had arrested and charged a former OpenSea employee with insider trading of NFTs or non-fungible tokens. The individual in question, Nathanial Chastain,  has been charged with wire fraud, and money laundering as he… Read More

Just the Beginning: Digital Asset Insider Trading Arrest Foreshadows More Enforcement Actions Coming

The Citizens Jury Wheel Legal Court Trial Justice Judge Law

It was reported earlier that the US Department of Justice had announced its first arrest and pending case against an individual that utilized insider information to trade digital assets. A former OpenSea manager has been charged with leveraging his position and insider knowledge at the… Read More

FBI Arrests EminiFX Operator for Alleged Crypto, Forex Scams

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested Eddy Alexandre, operator of the crypto and Forex trading platform EminiFX, regarding allegations of a $59 million fraud. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Alexandre allegedly committed commodities and wire fraud soliciting over $59 million from… Read More

“Coin Signals” Crypto Trader Gets 42 Months in the Slammer for Defrauding Investors

Jeremy Spence, aka Coin Signals, has received a judgment of 42 months in prison for defrauding over 170 investors. According to the US Department of Justice, Spence pled guilty with the sentence being handed down this past week. Charges were originally filed in early 2021… Read More

Crypto Fraud: SEC, DOJ Charges Brother – Sister Team with Allegations of $124 Million Scam with Ormeus Coin

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced fraud charges against John and JonAtina (Tina) Barksdale – a brother and sister team that allegedly pursued two fraudulent digital token offerings that garnered $124 million from retail investors. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office… Read More

Tinkoff Bank Named Systemically Important Russian Lender, Founder Pays $500M+ Fine in US

Tinkoff Bank has been added to the Bank of Russia’s list of 13 systemically important lenders, the institution said this week. They said the decision was based on such factors as higher than average business growth and an extensive customer base. The move comes days… Read More

CipherTrace Shares Report on Blockchain Analysis that Helped US Seize $2M+ in DarkSide Ransom Paid by Colonial Pipeline

On June 7, 2021, the US Department of Justice announced that they had managed to seize 63.69 BTC (valued at around $2.5 million) of the 75 BTC ransom Colonial Pipeline was forced to pay to DarkSide. This ransom recovery is notably the very first undertaken… Read More

Crypto Fraud: Roger Nils-Jonas Karlsson Pleads Guilty to Securites Fraud, Money Laundering in Scam that Pilfered Over $16 Million

Roger Nils-Jonas Karlsson, 47, has pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering pertaining to a scam that defrauded more than 3,500 victims of more than $16 million, according to the US Department of Justice. Karlsson apparently directed his victims to make investments using virtual… Read More

A Record Bitcoin Seizure by the US Government at Over $1 Billion in Crypto

The US government is looking to set a new record of sorts. The Department of Justice has filed a civil action to seize Bitcoin valued at more than $1 billion, the largest seizure of its kind ever. As has been widely covered, a long slumbering… Read More

US Department of Justice Files Anti-Trust Suit Pertaining to Visa Acquisition of Plaid

In a blow to a significant Fintech, the US Department of Justice has filed suit in federal court pertaining to Visa’s (NYSE:V) pending $5.3 billion acquisition of Plaid, a top open banking platform. Last January, Visa announced its intent to purchase Plaid. At that time,… Read More

tZERO Chief Legal Officer on Crypto Enforcement Actions: “Cowboy innovation is worse than no innovation at all”

Last week, the US Department of Justice published a white paper, crafted by the Cyber-Digital Task Force, that outlines its approach to enforcement when it comes to digital assets (or cryptoassets). US Attorney General William Barr issued the following statement on the framework: “Cryptocurrency is… Read More

Department of Justice Publishes Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework: “We see criminals using cryptocurrency to try to prevent us from following the money”

Attorney General William P. Barr announced today the publication of the “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework.” The publication was created by Barr’s Cyber-Digital Task Force. The document outlines the Department of Justice’s approach to crypto and its challenges. The Framework states: “… despite its relatively brief… Read More

John McAfee Hit by SEC Enforcement Action Regarding ICO Promotions, DOJ Joins in with Criminal Charges

John McAfee, a blockchain advocate and former software entrepreneur that created McAfee ant-virus software, is the target of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action pertaining to the promotion of initial coin offerings (ICOs). The civil action by the SEC was joined by criminal… Read More

SEC Files Civil Enforcement Action Against Brendan Ross, Former Direct Lending Investments CEO, Criminal Charges Filed by DOJ

Brendan Ross, the former CEO and founder of Direct Lending Investments (DLI), is the target of a Civil Enforcement Action filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week. Direct Lending Investments was once a prominent participant in the online lending industry in the… Read More

US Department of Justice Alleges that President Nicolas Maduro and other Venezuelan Leaders Used Cryptocurrencies to Bypass Political and Economic Sanctions

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is alleging that several Venezuelan leaders and politicians, including President Nicolas Maduro, took advantage of their positions, financial systems, and virtual currencies to conceal and carry out criminal activity for more than two decades. An indictment released on March… Read More

“Prolific” Dark Net Fentanyl Dealer Forfeits $4 Million USD, Including Bitcoins

A man who pleaded guilty in New York to distributing, “prolific quantities of powerful opioids,’ has also agreed to forfeit $4,156,198.18, “including the funds or currency in seven different Bitcoin wallet addresses.” The release regarding the plea and forfeiture from the Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Attorney’s… Read More

San Diego LocalBitcoins Dealer Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering, Forfeits “Ill-Gotten Gains”

Jacob Burrell Campos, 21, plead guilty in San Diego yesterday to operating an unlicensed money business and agreed to forfeit $823,357.00, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office-Southern District of California. Mr Campos admitted he traded hundreds of thousands of dollars of… Read More

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