Eighteen companies and individuals face charges linked to alleged fraud and manipulation in cryptocurrency markets.
The charges, which were revealed in Boston, relate to the executives of four cryptocurrency companies, four cryptocurrency financial services companies known as “market makers” and employees of these companies, the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusettssaid in a Wednesday (October 9) press release.
Four The defendants pleaded guilty, another agreed to plead guilty, and three others were apprehended by authorities this week.according to the press release.
Furthermore, more than 25 million dollars in cryptocurrency has been seized and several commercial robots have been deactivated, the statement said.
Charging documents allege that defendants who created cryptocurrency companies Saitama, Robo Inu, VZZN and Lillian Finance passed off their tokens as good investments by executing fictitious trades. in the tokens (“wash trades”) and make false statements about the tokens, according to the press release.
THE market makers – ZM Quant, CLS Global, MyTrade MM and Gotbit — are accused of wash trade and/or conspire to do soaccording to the press release.
“Wash trading has long been prohibited in financial markets, and cryptocurrencies are no exception,” the Acting U.S. Attorney said. Josué Lévy said in the release. “These are cases where an innovative technology – cryptocurrency – encountered a centenary diagram – the pump and discharge. Today’s message is: If you make false statements to mislead investors, it’s fraud. Period.”
In a pump-and-dump scheme, a manipulator spreads rumors, a wave of buying drives prices up, and then the manipulator sells, causing prices to fall, PYMNTS reported in an August 2022 preview of manipulation of the cryptocurrency market.
In wash trading, a person or group buys and resells a token at progressively higher prices before discarding itaccording to the report.
As part of the government’s investigation, the The FBI has created a cryptocurrency company and token, according to Wednesday’s press release.
“The FBI has taken the unprecedented step of creating its very own cryptocurrency token and business to identify, disrupt And bring these alleged fraudsters to justice,” Jodi CohenSpecial Agent in Charge of the FBI, Boston Division, said in the release.
