On May 30, a New York court sentenced Rashawn Russell, a former employee of the German investment bank Deutsche Bank, to 41 months in prison for cryptocurrency fraud. This was reported by the US Department of Justice.
According to the department, from November 2020 to August 2022, Russell managed the R3 crypto fund. He promised investors guaranteed returns from trading digital assets, but in reality, he used their money for personal purposes and to pay other participants in the scam scheme.
“[…] from September 2021 to June 2023, Russell fraudulently obtained at least 97 credit/debit cards and at least 43 identification documents in the names of third parties, often from gym lockers in New York and New Jersey,” added the Department of Justice.
According to the prosecution, the former Deutsche Bank employee planned to use the documents and cards for illegal transactions.
In September 2023, Russell pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.5 million in restitution.
In May 2024, US law enforcement arrested Chinese nationals Darren Li and Yichen Zhang on charges of laundering at least $73 million related to cryptocurrency fraud.