A former investment banker has been arrested and charged with wire fraud in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency scheme.
According to a press release from the US Department of Justice, Rashawn Russell, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority-registered broker, has been charged with one count of wire fraud in connection with his alleged participation in the conspiracy.
According to the press release, Russell allegedly convinced investors that he would use their money for cryptocurrency investments, that they would receive large and, in certain cases, guaranteed returns, and then stole a large portion of their money.
According to the allegation, when investors demanded reimbursement, Russell allegedly claimed fraudulently that he had moved the monies they had given him to invest.
This research is the latest in a series of charges that Bitcoin claims have been used to put a new spin on old-fashioned fraud practices.
In November 2022, for example, a New York man pled guilty to misleading clients in a case in which he offered to provide them with crypto-mining equipment (“Miners”) and Miner hosting services but instead kept the money and failed to deliver.
