The founders behind the alleged $340 million “global Ponzi” scheme Forsage have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Oregon. The four Russian founders — Vladimir Okhotnikov, Olena Oblamska, Mikhail Sergeev, and Sergey Maslakov — have been formally accused of having key roles in the scheme which raised approximately $340 million from victim-investors, according to a Feb. 22 Department of Justice (DOJ) statement. “Today’s indictment is the result of a rigorous investigation that spent months piecing together the systematic theft of hundreds of millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Natalie Wight for the District of Oregon, …

The local bureau of Interpol detained a British national charged by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) in Moscow. He’s being alleged of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on North Korea. As reported by the local media on Feb. 21, Christopher Emms has been arrested in Moscow upon the “red notice” from Interpol. A 31-year-old British citizen was detained in the hostel where he was staying. In April 2022, alongside the Spanish national Alejandro Cao De Benos, Emms was alleged of providing instructions on how the DPRK could use blockchain and cryptocurrency technology to launder money and evade sanctions. …

The world’s largest digital asset exchange, Binance, is preparing to face fines and penalties in order to settle outstanding regulatory and law-enforcement investigations in the United States. According to a Feb. 15 WSJ report citing the firm’s chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann, Binance has been working with regulators to remedy past compliance issues. Hillmann stated that Binance is “working with regulators to figure out what are the remediations we have to go through now to make amends for that.” He added that the outcome of ongoing investigations will likely be fines but could be more, stating “that is for regulators …

A New York judge has granted a request from prosecutors to defer civil proceedings from the Commodities Futures Trading Commision (CFTC) and the Securities Exchange Commision (SEC) until after Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial in October. U.S. District Judge of Manhattan Kevin Castel on Feb. 13 granted the motions to stay the civil proceedings “without prejudice,” meaning the cases will now be halted until after the Department of Justice's (DOJ’s) criminal trial concludes. The motion was first submitted on Feb. 7 by Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, requesting to defer both civil cases against the …

Eddy Alexandre, CEO of purported crypto trading platform EminiFX has pleaded guilty to commodities fraud in a New York district court, agreeing to pay back millions to investors who lost funds to his "cryptocurrency investment scam. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Feb. 10 that Alexandre submitted a guilty plea to one count of commodities fraud, and will pay over $248 million in forfeiture along with restitution yet to be specified. Alexandre was arrested and charged in May 2022 over his role in EminiFX and originally pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea on Feb. 10. He …

Lawyers representing bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital have served former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX and Alameda Research executives with subpoenas requesting information. The subpoenas have a very wide scope, with Voyager’s lawyers seeking copies of any documents and communication between FTX entities and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Department of Justice (DOJ) according to the Feb. 6 filing. Amongst a plethora of other requested documents, the lawyers also want to see information relating to the loan portfolio between Alameda and Voyager as well as FTX’s financial condition before and after it filed for bankruptcy …

Crypto bank Silvergate is reportedly being probed by the United States Department of Justice fraud unit over its involvement with the bankrupt FTX exchange and its affiliates. The probe is investigating Silvergate’s hosting of accounts linked to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s businesses, according to “people familiar with the matter” as reported by Bloomberg on Feb. 3. The California-based crypto bank is not accused of any crime, but investigators are attempting to discover how deep the dealings with FTX and Alameda went. Silvergate was heavily impacted by the collapse of FTX in November, reporting a $1 billion loss last quarter. …

Founder of “My Big Coin” and convicted fraudster Randall Crater has been sentenced to 100 months in prison and has been ordered to pay over $7.6 million to the victims of his fraudulent scheme. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Jan. 31 that Crater was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Denise Casper in Massachusetts. The sentence comes around six months after Crater was convicted by a federal jury on Jul. 21, 2022, on four counts of wire fraud, three counts of unlawful monetary transactions and one count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Randall Crater, the …

Noncustodial peer-to-peer crypto exchange Bitzlato was little known to some before the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) enforcement action against it on Jan. 18. It was cofounded in 2016 by recently arrested Russian national, Anatoly Legkodymov. According to a Russian source, Anatoly Legkodymov is the owner of 73.4% of Bitzlato, which has an office on a high floor in the Federation Tower skyscraper in Moscow, where it accepted trades of $100,000 or more. Legkodymov and his main partner in Bitzlato are also reportedly involved in Russian crypto mining equipment distribution company A-HVT. Legkodymov had a long and checkered history …

The United States Department of Justice is expected to announce a “major international cryptocurrency enforcement action.” According to a Jan. 18 announcement, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco will lead a press conference in which the Justice Department will announce a major enforcement action — now believed to be against the crypto firm Bitzlato. The U.S. Treasury Department is also expected to announce a similar enforcement action. Other speakers at the event will include Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite of the Department of Justice's criminal division, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace of the Eastern District of New York, FBI Associate Deputy …

A group of crypto fraud victims of the BitConnect investment scheme will see some respite from the multi-billion dollar fraud scheme after a court ordered they receive a share in a $17 million restitution. The United States District Court for the Southern District of California ordered the restitution for the “massive” scheme on Jan. 12 according to a release on the same day by the Department of Justice (DOJ). 800 victims of the scheme, hailing from 40 countries will be able to take a small slice of the $17 million restitution, a term that refers to returning property or monetary …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty to all criminal charges he’s facing, including wire fraud, securities fraud and violations of campaign finance laws. In total, the entrepreneur faces eight criminal counts, which could result in 115 years in prison should he be convicted. Meanwhile, Daniel Friedberg, the controversial lawyer who served as top compliance chief at FTX, has reportedly cooperated with prosecutors and provided them with his knowledge of SBF’s use of customer funds to finance his illegal business scheme. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has formed the FTX Task …