The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently published a press release announcing that the purported head trader of a cryptocurrency trading platform pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that took in $100 million from investors. According to the press release, the defendant admitted that he and others made numerous misrepresentations to investors, including about the existence of a proprietary trading bot and the promise of guaranteed returns. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
This week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an action against a cryptocurrency assets broker, Chicago Crypto Capital LLC, its owner and two salespeople, alleging violations of the securities laws. The allegations include that the company and individuals conducted an "unregistered offering of crypto asset securities" related to certain BXY tokens, and further made materially false and misleading statements in the offer, purchase and/or sale of the BXY tokens. The SEC seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest and civil penalties.
Finally, according to several recent reports, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has successfully assisted law enforcement agencies in recovering $30 million in funds stolen from the Ronin Bridge hack in March of this year by North Korea-linked Lazarus Group. Among other things, the reports note that while the Lazarus Group had been using the Tornado Cash mixer to launder the hacked proceeds, it subsequently switched to utilizing DeFi services to chain hop following the imposition of sanctions on Tornado Cash by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- EmpiresX Head Trader Pleads Guilty to Global Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Scheme that Amassed Approximately $100 Million from Investors
- SEC Sues Chicago-Area Unregistered Crypto Assets Broker, Its Owner, and Two Salespeople with Fraud and with Conducting an Unregistered Offering
- $30 Million Seized: How the Cryptocurrency Community Is Making It Difficult for North Korean Hackers To Profit
- Law enforcement recovers $30 million from Ronin Bridge hack with the help of Chainalysis
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.