The Daily Muck

CEO of Crypto Firm Pleads Guilty to Investment Fraud

Travis Ford, 35, from Glenpool, Okla., the CEO and co-founder of the cryptocurrency investment firm Wolf Capital Crypto Trading LLC, pleaded guilty on Jan. 10 to crimes related to investment fraud, according to a DOJ press release.

Report Jessika Saunders | Feb 18, 2025

Travis_Ford_the_CEO_and_Cofounder_of_Wolf_Capital_Crypto_Investing_Has_Pleaded_Guilty_to_Investment_Fraud_Represeted_by_Depictions_of_Various_Cryptocurrencies_on_a_Computer_Tablet

Money Laundering

Russian Cryptomixers Charged with Money Laundering

Three Russian nationals were charged in an indictment returned on Jan. 7 with crimes related to operating two cryptocurrency mixing services, Sinbad.io and Blender.io, according to a DOJ press release. Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, 44, and Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, 55, were arrested on Dec. 1, 2024, but Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov, 32, has not yet been apprehended […]

Report Jessika Saunders | Feb 18, 2025

Three_Russian_Cryptomixers_Have_Been_Charged_With_Money_Laundering_As_Representing_By_a_Clothesline_and_Clothespin_Holding_Up_100_Dollar_Bills

Elder Fraud

Elder Fraudsters Indicted for Money Laundering

A federal jury in Tucson, Ariz., returned an indictment for Ahmed Maqbul Syed, 57, and Rupesh Chandra Chintakindi, 27, both Indian citizens, for their role in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Report Strahinja Nikolić | Feb 11, 2025

Rupesh_Chandra_Chintakindi_Was_Reported_Missing_Before_Being_Ultimately_Indicted_for_Elder_Fraud

Follow The Muck on

Misrepresentation

South Korean CEO Indicted in U.S. for Deceiving Investors

Do Kyeong Kwon, 33, a national of South Korea, was extradited from Montenegro to stand before a Manhattan court on Jan. 2 to formally face federal charges for his part in a cryptocurrency scheme to defraud investors of $40 billion, according to a DOJ press release.

Report Jessika Saunders | Feb 7, 2025

Do_Kwon_South_Korean_CEO_of_Terraform_Has_Been_Indicted_in_the_U.S._for_Defrauding_Investoirs

Embezzlement

Alleged “Cryptojacker” Indicted

Joshua Paul Armbrust, a 44-year-old man from Orr, Minn., was indicted for an illegal so-called “cryptojacking” scheme that led to significant financial losses, according to a public statement by the Department of Justice.

Report Strahinja Nikolić | Jan 10, 2025

Prosecutors_accuse_Joshua_Paul_Armbrust_of_the_new_crime_of_cryptojacking

Money Laundering

Million-Dollar Launderer Sentenced to Three Years

Richard Charles Appelbaum III, 40, from Maryland Heights, Mo., was sentenced on Dec. 5 to three years in prison for his part in a scheme to launder millions of dollars into cryptocurrency, according to a DOJ press release.

Report Jessika Saunders | Dec 26, 2024

A_Man_With_A_Blurred_Masked_Face_Holds_Up_a_Gold_Coin_Representing_a_Bitcoin_Which_Richard_Appelbaum_Used_to_Launder_Stolen_Money

Financial Gains

Hacker Gets Five Years for Stealing Billions in Bitcoin

Ilya Lichtenstein, 36, a Russian-U.S. national living in New York City, was sentenced on Nov. 14 to five years in prison for his part in a conspiracy to steal around 120,000 Bitcoins from the global cryptocurrency exchange Bifinex, according to a DOJ press release.

Report Jessika Saunders | Dec 2, 2024

Ilya Lichtenstein and His Wife Heather Morgan Have Pleaded Guilty to a Crypto Scam

Racketeering

Secret Service Disrupts “Pig-Butchering” Crypto Scheme

The U.S Secret Service seizes a web domain used in a new type of cryptocurrency con called Pig Butchering, which was used to defraud one victim out of $341,000.

Report Seb Jenkins | Jul 1, 2024