Two foreign nationals pleaded guilty in Newark federal court regarding their participation in the Lockbit ransomware organization, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed on Thursday. Russian citizen Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov and Mikhail Vasiliev, a dual citizen of Canada and Russia, were identified as members of the Lockbit group. Active since January 2020, this group […]
Nicholas Mui, 22, from Grand Haven, Michigan, has pleaded guilty in the 17th Circuit Court in Kent County to conducting a criminal enterprise, involving the theft and sale of Mperks account access information. Mui is required to forfeit his computer tower and approximately $ 630,000 in frozen cryptocurrency and cash. He compromised Mperks, a …
Crypto exchange Bitmex has pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by failing to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program, resulting in the company being a vehicle for large-scale money laundering. The DOJ announced this plea following previous legal actions and settlements. Bitmex says: “We have accepted the BSA charge, will seek […]
A Paxful co-founder has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program on the peer-to-peer cryptocurrency platform. This led to various criminal activities being conducted on the platform, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). He faces up to five years in prison and will step down […]
Michael Joseph McElhiney, age 37 and formerly of Spokane, Washington, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Wednesday. Between March 4, 2021, and Sept. 10, 2022, McElhiney defrauded investors by falsely claiming to operate a cryptocurrency investment fund called Mac Blockchain Solutions. He contacted victims in person, via […]