US Department of Justice accuses four cryptocurrency platforms of fraud

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The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted the creators of cryptocurrency projects Baller Ape Club NFT, EmpiresX, Circle Society, and Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services, accusing them of stealing investors' funds.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice, 26-year-old Vietnamese national Le Anh Tuan is accused of conspiring to commit wire fraud.The attackers organized the Baller Ape Club project, selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the form of various cartoon characters, including those depicting monkeys.Shortly after the sale of the first batch of NFTs, Tuan and his accomplices shut down the project and deleted the websiteand absconded with $2.6 million in investor funds.

Law enforcement agencies found out that the creators of Baller Ape Club withdrew liquidity from pools (rug pull), converted tokens into other crypto assets and moved them across multiple blockchains using decentralized exchanges to "cover their tracks" of stolen cryptocurrencies.If convicted, Tuan could face up to 40 yearsImprisonment.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed separate charges against two Brazilians, Emerson Pires and Flavio Goncalves, as well as Joshua David Nicholas, a resident of Florida, for running the cryptocurrency investment platform EmpiresX.They organized the sale of unregistered securities, guaranteed investors a high return, attracting them with false statements.The agency alleges that the creators of EmpiresX paid profits to early investors from funds received fromlater investors and also laundered money through a foreign cryptocurrency exchange.If Pires and Gonçalves are found guilty on all charges, they face a risk ofup to 45 years in prison, and Nicholas up to 25 yearsImprisonment.

The agency's press release also mentions a 54-year-old citizen from the state of California, Michael Alan Stollery, the founder of the cryptocurrency investment platform Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services (TBIS).He is accused of illegally selling TBIS' crypto assets, which violated securities laws.During the ICO, about $21 million was raised from American and foreign investors.According to the indictment, Stollery provided investors with incorrect information about TBIS and published fake reviews on the project's website, posting false information about cooperation with well-known companies Apple Inc., Pfizer Inc.and The Walt Disney Company to inspire confidence in potential investors.Stollery faces up to 20 years in prison.

In addition, charges were brought against a 49-year-old resident of Nevada, David Saffron, the owner of the cryptocurrency investment platform Circle Society.Saffron guaranteed users a return of 500%-600% of the invested amount with the help of a trading bot that could allegedly make more than 17,000 transactions per hour on various cryptocurrency exchanges.Saffron held meetings with investors in luxury homes to create the appearance of wealth and success.In total, he managed to defraud investors of about $12 million.The offender faces up to 115 years in prison.

In June, the U.S. Department of Justice called on law enforcement agencies around the world to join forces to combat cryptocurrency crimes.The agency proposed to standardize anti-money laundering (AML) rules and strengthen supervisionKnow Your Customer (KYC)