Baltimore, MD—Three individuals have been charged in U.S. District Court in Maryland for orchestrating a $1.89 billion cryptocurrency fraud scheme. A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Sam Lee, 35, an Australian citizen residing in the United Arab Emirates for allegedly co-founding HyperFund, also known as HyperTech, HyperCapital, HyperVerse, and HyperNation. The indictment was returned on January 25, […]
GREENBELT, MD—A Maryland man has been sentenced to prison in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1.2 million in federal relief loans. U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman has sentenced Denish Sahadevan, a/k/a “Danny Devan,” 32, of Potomac, to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft […]
GREENBELT, MD—A father and son have been sentenced to prison for laundering drug trafficking Bitcoin proceeds. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has sentenced Joseph Farace, age 72, of Sparks, to 19 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for a money laundering conspiracy. On January 5, 2023, Judge Griggsby sentenced his son, Ryan Farace, age […]
BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown’s Securities Division announced that it has joined a $22.5 million multistate settlement with Nexo Capital, Inc. In September 2022, Maryland filed an action against Nexo in connection with its Earn Interest Product (EIP) accounts. The Securities Division had alleged that the EIP accounts enabled customers to deposit crypto assets with Nexo. In exchange, […]
BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown’s Securities Division announced that it has filed an action against various companies, known collectively as “Abra,” and against William John “Bill” Barhydt, the founder and CEO of Abra, ordering them to cease and desist violating Maryland law in connection with the offer and sale of investments in two interest-bearing crypto depository accounts: Abra […]
BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown’s Securities Division on Tuesday announced that it has filed an action against Coinbase Global, Inc. and Coinbase, Inc., ordering them to cease and desist violating Maryland law in connection with Coinbase’s cryptocurrency asset staking offerings. The Securities Division alleges that Coinbase offered and sold unregistered securities in a form that Coinbase calls “staking […]
WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are alerting the public of several nationwide imposter scams involving individuals claiming to be U.S. marshals, court officers, or other law enforcement officials. They are urging people to report the calls their local FBI office and file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which has the ability […]
BALTIMORE, MD—The Office of the Attorney General’s Securities Division this week announced that it has filed a Cease and Desist against a cryptocurrency interest account provider, Nexo Group and its co-founder Antoni Trenchev (collectively, “Nexo”), ordering them to cease and desist violating Maryland law in connection with the offer and sale of Nexo’s Earn Interest Product (EIP) accounts. The Securities […]