Tag Archives: United States

On October 15, 2024, Juan Tacuri, a senior promoter of the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme Forcount, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and one year of supervised release. The Florida resident was also ordered to forfeit a home bought with scam proceeds, $3.6 million in assets, and pay an equivalent amount in restitution to victims. Details of the Scam Court documents revealed that Forcount operated globally, defrauding thousands of victims with a particular focus on...

Chirag Tomar, a 31-year-old Indian citizen, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for orchestrating a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims out of more than $20 million. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell handed down the sentence, which also included two years of supervised release. Scammers Imitate Coinbase to Steal Millions According to court documents, Tomar and his co-conspirators executed the fraud by “spoofing” a website designed to...

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged to support digital asset policies that protect crypto investors, especially black men participating in the sector. The promise was part of a wide-ranging agenda targeting men of color whom the Democratic flagbearer’s team believes could be pivotal in the November presidential elections. Securing Black Male Voters via Crypto In an October 14 release, the Harris campaign promised their candidate would create a conducive crypto...

An 86-year-old former attorney, David Kagel, has been sentenced to five years of probation for organizing a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of nearly $15 million. The judgment, filed on October 8 in a Las Vegas federal court, also requires him to pay $14 million in restitution to his victims. $15M Crypto Ponzi Scheme U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro handed down the sentence following Kagel’s guilty plea to one count of conspiracy...

U.S. authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), have charged Gotbit and four other crypto firms with widespread market manipulation. The charges also roped in several individuals who worked for the offending organizations. Market Makers Accused of Running Wash Trading Scheme According to a statement the SEC issued on October 9, Gotbit, ZM Quant, CLS Global, and MyTrade MM...

At the 2024 Tsinghua PBC Chief Economist Forum, former Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Zhu Guangyao urged China to re-evaluate its approach to the crypto industry. He cited the evolving international stance on digital currencies, particularly in the United States, where the asset class has gained political support from key figures like U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. Policy Shift In his speech, Zhu acknowledged the risks and challenges posed by crypto but...

U.S. authorities have charged Russian citizens Sergey Sergeevich Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov for allegedly operating a cryptocurrency money laundering service tied to Russian cybercrime. The U.S. Department of State has issued a $10 million bounty for information leading to the arrest or conviction of each. International Crackdown on Russian Cybercrime The United States Treasury, in coordination with international partners, announced it had taken action to disrupt the...

A digital asset lobby group backed by Coinbase, Stand With Crypto, has been forced to change its crypto-friendly ranking of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The group, which runs a website that ranks the level of support U.S. politicians have shown for crypto, had characterized Harris as “Supports Crypto,” giving her a “B” grade. Group Deemed Harris’ New York Remarks Supportive of Crypto The ranking followed remarks the Vice President made on September 22 at a...

Federal prosecutors have indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams following corruption investigations that have triggered the retirements and resignations of several members of his administration. Adams, a former police captain, made the headlines in 2021 when he pledged to take his first three paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC) when he became mayor. Charges Remain Unclear According to reports from the New York Times, it is still unclear what Adams is being charged with since the...

Sources familiar with the living arrangements of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn have revealed interesting facts about two popular inmates. The recently arrested American rapper and celebrity Sean Combs, popularly known as Diddy, is in the same cell with Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the convicted founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. According to a New York Times report, Combs and SBF live in the same unit with other high-profile inmates, including...