The Trump administration has filed a $100 million lawsuit against infamous bitcoin exchange BTC-e and its alleged operator, Russian national Alexander Vinnik. Vinnik, who remains in custody in Greece as governments worldwide jockey to extradite him, stands accused of laundering billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency stolen from other exchanges, most notably Mt. Gox. Trump DOJ Sues BTC-e...
Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were among the 50 people caught in a federal sweep investigating an alleged elaborate college cheating scam. It's the most large scale college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice. Lori Loughlin is famous for her role as Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis on the hit 90s ABC show Full House, as well as the recent Netflix...
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly opened a probe into whether Tether, the eponymous issuer of the USD-pegged cryptocurrency stablecoin tether (USDT), has engaged in illegal market manipulation to prop up the bitcoin price. Justice Department Investigates Tether for Crypto Manipulation Citing three people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that federal prosecutors -- who...
The US Marshals Service has announced an upcoming auction for over $4 million worth of bitcoin seized during various legal proceedings. The sealed bid auction, which is scheduled to take place in November, will offer approximately 660 BTC seized during about 31 federal criminal, civil and administrative cases under the asset forfeiture framework of the Department of Justice. Particulars for the...
The Department of Justice (DOJ) in conjunction with a host of other government agencies have uncovered vendors of illicit goods on the Darknet to seize weapons and over $20 million in bitcoin from them. The operation which was spearheaded by the Department of Justice had Special Agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) pose as money launderers on Darknet market sites where they were able...
The United States’ Justice Department has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into possible market manipulation of prices of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin by traders. Citing sources familiar with the probe, Bloomberg is reporting that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is working alongside the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the markets regulator, to...
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has slapped cryptocurrency-friendly money transfer service Payza with a lawsuit for allegedly laundering more than $250 million connected to illicit activities including Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, and child pornography rings. The lawsuit, which was filed on Nov. 3, 2016, but not released until this week, also accuses Payza and its co-founders -- Canadian...
The US government is seeking to confiscate 500 bitcoins from individuals charged with creating and distributing forged identification documents. On Thursday, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio announced that four individuals had been indicted for allegedly manufacturing and transferring falsified documents such as drivers’ licenses and personal identification cards issued...