Nevada Woman Sentenced for Hiring Hitman With Bitcoin to Kill Ex-Husband

Her $5,000 Bitcoin payment to a scam site would be worth $360,000 today.

• 2023-07-24
• Kristy Lynn Felkins Besa Mafia U.S. Department of Justice Gabriel Scott Bitcoin

Bitcoin, Ether fall, Polygon leads losers; U.S. equities gain as inflation slows

Bitcoin dropped on Thursday morning in Asia to below US$30,500. Ether and most other top 10 non-stablecoin tokens also logged losses.

• 2023-07-13
• inflation rate U.S. Department of Justice Bitcoin Bitcoin worth U.S. government

Las Vegas Man Charged in CoinDeal $45M Crypto Fraud Case

A Las Vegas man has been hit with new charges as part of the CoinDeal crypto and metaverse alleged scam—and could face up to 100 years behind bars.

• 2023-05-20
• Bryan Lee U.S. Department of Justice Las Vegas U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission mail fraud CoinDeal wealthy investors

First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Bounces Back From Friday Lows

The latest price moves in bitcoin (BTC) and crypto markets in context for May 15, 2023. First Mover is CoinDesk’s daily newsletter that contextualizes the latest actions in the crypto markets.

• 2023-05-15
• Eun Young Choi Chair Jereome Powell U.S. Department of Justice National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team

Ryuk Ransomware Gang’s Crypto Broker Gets Light Sentence After a Guilty Plea

Denis Dubnikov, a founder of two OTC trading desks in Russia tied to ransomware attacks, was sentenced to no jail time and forfeiture of $2,000 last week after a guilty plea, court documents show.

• 2023-04-18
• Denis Dubnikov U.S. Department of Justice documents show Ryuk ransomware

US, Germany shut ChipMixer for alleged ties to US$3 bln crypto laundering

US, and German shuttered ChipMixer, a cryptocurrency service that allegedly laundered more than US$3 billion in crypto since 2017.

• 2023-03-16
• money laundering U.S. Department of Justice

US accuses exiled Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui of $1 billion crypto-linked fraud

Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire, was arrested in New York on Wednesday for allegedly orchestrating a more than US$1 billion fraud conspiracy that included cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). See related article: U.S. banking regulators warn against cryptocurrency fraud, contagion risks Fast facts […]

• 2023-03-16
• Guo Wengui U.S. Department of Justice bank fraud Ho Wan Kwok cryptocurrency

U.S. DOJ Was Investigating Signature Bank's Work With Crypto Clients: Bloomberg

Prosecutors were looking at the crypto-friendly bank before regulators seized it, people familiar told Bloomberg.

• 2023-03-15
• Signature Bank U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Bloomberg Manhattan

The Rise and Fall of Silvergate’s Crypto Business

Silvergate Bank lost more than $8 billion in deposits from its crypto customers in the final months of 2022 as its core block of business crumbled under the industry’s implosion – just as the bank’s regulators had predicted might happen for such institutions.

• 2023-03-04
• Silvergate Bank U.S. Department of Justice Silvergate

Crypto exchange Binance expects to pay penalties to settle US investigations

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, expects to pay monetary penalties to settle probes into its business in the U.S., a top executive said, in a major about-face after publicly disputing the idea that it was under any investigation and mocking media outlets that reported otherwise. In an apparent admission of breaking laws, Binance chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann told the WSJ that the company's executives were unfamiliar with laws and rules written surrounding bribery, corrupt

• 2023-02-16
• monetary penalties Binance Changpeng Zhao U.S. Department of Justice