Former Deutsche Bank Official Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Cryptocurrency Frauds
Department of Justice charged a former employee of Deutsche Bank with 30-years behind bars for running crypto scams. The agency has published a press release recently to share the details about the investigation with the public.
The accused in the case, namely Rashawn Russell, pleaded guilty to the charges of executing a crypto fraud scheme and siphoning credit card information from his victims. He has been identified as a former banker and professional broker.
The charges brought by investigators indicate that he was active between 2020 and 2022. Investigators found that he trapped 29 investors using R3 crypto fund. He promised the investors massive returns on their foray into the crypto market.
The investors agreed to invest their money into the fraudulent scheme with misleading promise of big returns. However, the officials from Department of Justice have claimed that instead of making any profits the affected parties ended up with heavy losses.
Russell Used Customer Funds for Gambling and Personal Expenses
The investigators have also revealed that Russell was not using the funds from the investors to invest in profitable positions. Instead, he exhausted his funds on buying luxury lifestyle and gambling.
Furthermore, he continued to entrap new investors to put money into his fraudulent projects as a way to repay the old creditors. He has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars. At the same time, law has also ordained him to pay $1.5 million in restitution to compensate for the damages caused to the affected parties.
The prosecution has eased his sentencing as part of the plea bargain deal on account his confession. Breon Peace, the relevant US attorney shared the details about the matter in a recent press release.
According to his assertions, Russell took advantage of the interest of investors in cryptocurrency markets. He offered unrealistic returns to the investors that are a clear indication of a fraudulent scheme.
The prosecution stated that they have a strong conviction to keep the bad actors out of the crypto sector. He was also found guilty of identity theft of 15 victims stealing credit card information between 2021 and 2023.
Law makers from Philippines are joining forces with SEC officials and Asian Development Bank in order to crack down against crypto scammers. SEC agencies from both nations have issued a joint statement on September 15th regarding joint operations to arm itself against fraud and scam charges.
Emilio Aquino, the chairperson of SEC Philippines stated that the workshop will allow investigators to deal with criminal activity taking place in the crypto sector such as insider trading, manipulation, and off-market frauds, and other types of illegal projects.
The government has signed the IOSCO Multilateral MOU concerning illegal activities taking place in the cryptocurrency markets. At the start of the ongoing year, the SEC of the Asian nation delayed the release of regulatory framework for virtual currencies that was set for release in 2022.
The Central Bank and regional SEC of the nation has issued warning for the citizens to refrain from engaging with cryptocurrencies on account of high volatility. Nevertheless, crypto adoption in the nation continues to soar reaching as high as 11.6 million of the citizens already invested in cryptocurrencies.
