Tag Archives: #Legal

On July 18, Judge Eric Vitaliano sentenced the founder of the Bitzlato cryptocurrency exchange to 18 months, the time he had already served, for running an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Anatoly Legkodymov pleaded guilty last year to running an operation that facilitated the concealment of over $700 million in proceeds from illegal gambling and drug transactions. Bitzlato Founder Admits He Could Have Done More Judge Vitaliano acknowledged the harsh conditions at...

Two men have been sentenced for manipulating the price of Hydrogen Technology’s cryptocurrency, HYDRO, and scheming to defraud investors. This case marks the first time a jury in a federal criminal trial has classified a cryptocurrency as a security and found that price manipulation of cryptocurrency constitutes securities fraud. $300M HYDRO Crypto Fraud Scheme Court documents and trial evidence revealed that Kane, the co-founder and CEO of Hydrogen Technology, and Hampton,...

Juan Tacuri, 46, of Greenacres, Florida, a senior promoter behind the Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the Southern District of New York. The scheme, which reaped $8.4 million from primarily Spanish-speaking investors, has been described as one of the more shocking frauds targeting vulnerable communities. Forcount Promoter Juan Tacuri’s Guilty Plea Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern...

85-year-old former attorney David Kagel has admitted guilt in a conspiracy to operate a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, defrauding victims of over $9.5 million. Once a legal authority figure in Beverly Hills, California, Kagel now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for his involvement in the Ponzi scheme. Crypto Ponzi Scheme Kagel stood accused of collaborating with co-conspirators to lure victims into a fake crypto investment scheme promising investors high-yield...

Rashawn Russell, a former investment banker, has been sentenced to 41 months in jail for wire fraud related to a cryptocurrency and access device fraud. Russell’s sentencing took place at the Eastern New York District Court in Brooklyn after his September 2023 guilty plea. Former Banker’s $1.5 Million Crypto Fraud Prosecutors detailed that Russell began soliciting investments in November 2020, targeting friends, former college classmates, and co-workers for his R3 Crypto...

A Taiwanese national has been charged with running Incognito Market, a darknet drug bazaar, and arrested after authorities tracked the platform’s transactions. The platform has transacted more than $100 million in crypto through selling illegal narcotics such as fentanyl. Incognito Market Founder Arrested and Charged On May 18, U.S. authorities arrested Rui-Siang Lin, 23, operating under the pseudonym “Pharoah,” at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. According to FBI...

Federal prosecutors are calling for a prison sentence of five to seven years for former FTX executive Ryan Salame, who has been implicated in its multibillion-dollar collapse. His defense team asserts that his punishment should reflect his role in exposing the fraud, pushing for a lighter sentence of no more than 18 months. Salame’s Defense According to a sentencing memo filed in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday seen by Bloomberg, prosecutors emphasized the seriousness...

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane approved Genesis Global’s Chapter 11 liquidation plan on Friday, enabling the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender to return approximately $3 billion in cash and crypto to its creditors. This ruling means that its parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), will not recover anything from the bankruptcy proceedings. DCG Left with No Recovery Judge Lane’s ruling comes after overruling an objection from DCG, which argued that the repayment to Genesis’...

Founder and former CEO of Digitex Futures Exchange, Adam Todd, has pleaded guilty to willingly leading the firm to fail to establish an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program. Notably, the former CEO’s plea was issued in a federal court in the Southern District of Florida on May 7. Former Digitex CEO Pleads Guilty The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Todd pleaded guilty to “willfully causing” Digitex to violate the Bank Secrecy Act. Indicted earlier this year, Todd was accused...

A New York court and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have revealed an indictment against Idin Dalpour. The 39-year-old New York resident is accused of organizing a sophisticated Ponzi scheme that allegedly defrauded investors of $43 million. $43 Million Ponzi Scheme According to the indictment, he ran the Ponzi scheme from approximately 2020 through April 2024. He targeted investors in the United States and abroad, soliciting investments through an entity he...