CRYPTOCURRENCY
Avraham Eisenberg, Mango Markets Exploiter, Charged with Possession of Child Pornography
Avraham Eisenberg, convicted of fraud and market manipulation in a $110 million Mango Markets heist, has been charged with possession of child pornography after discovering explicit images of minors on his electronic devices.
KuCoin and Founders Charged with Bank Secrecy Act and Money Transmission Offenses
KuCoin, along with its founders Chun Gan and Ke Tang, has been charged with violating the Bank Secrecy Act and operating an unlicensed money transmission business, allegedly allowing its platform to be used for money laundering and terrorist financing.
5 Charged for Hydro Token Market Manipulation
The US Department of Justice has charged five individuals for conspiring to manipulate the market in relation to an alleged scheme involving the Hydro (HYDRO) token. The charges include conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation and wire fraud, with potential penalties ranging from five years to 20 years in prison. The alleged manipulation of the Hydro token price resulted in the co-conspirators making an approximate total of $2 million in ill-gotten profits. In addition, Hydrogen Technology Corporation and former CEO Michael Ross Kane were ordered to pay $2.8 million in remedies and civil penalties in a separate case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SEC Charges Bittrex for Unregistered Securities Trading
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Bittrex and its former CEO William Shihara for operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The SEC argued that tokens traded on Bittrex, including OMG, Dash, Algorand, Monolith, Naga, and IHT, are securities.
South Korean Court Denies Arrest Warrant for Terraform Labs Co-Founder
A South Korean court denied a request for an arrest warrant for Terraform Labs co-founder, Shin Hyun-Seong, citing unconfirmed allegations and the unlikelihood of Shin being a flight risk. Shin currently faces multiple fraud charges and is accused of hiding risks associated with investing in Terraform Labs' in-house tokens. The recent arrest of Terraform Labs' other co-founder, Do Kwon, has led to extradition requests from both the United States and South Korea.
FTX Founder's Lawyers Consider Delaying Criminal Trial
Lawyers representing FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried have hinted that they may need to delay his criminal trial due to a lack of evidence from the Department of Justice (DOJ). The trial, which is scheduled to begin on October 2, will focus on fraud charges against Bankman-Fried. His lawyers have stated that they are still waiting for a "substantial portion" of evidence to be handed over to them, including evidence from devices belonging to former FTX employees who have pleaded guilty to fraud charges.
Sparkster Settles SEC Charges for Unregistered ICO, Agrees to Pay $35M to ‘Harmed Investors’
Sparkster agrees to pay over $35 million in a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over an "unregistered initial coin offering (ICO)" in 2018.
BitMEX's Greg Dwyer Pleads Guilty for Role in Money Laundering Case
Greg Dwyer has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges associated with BitMEX in a US court in Manhattan.
Russian National Extradited to the U.S. to Face Crypto Money Laundering Charges
Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national accused of running an illegal crypto exchange BTC-e was extradited to the United States to face fraud charges.
9 Cryptos Named as Securities by SEC amid Coinbase Insider Trading Charges
The US SEC listed nine cryptocurrencies as securities in response to the first-ever insider trading case involving crypto tokens against a former Coinbase employee.