Stefan He Qin, the founder of two cryptocurrency hedge funds, has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison after United States authorities found that he had cheated investors out of $54 million. A Wednesday statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni handed Qin a 90-month sentence for defrauding his investors out of $54 million. The 24-year-old Australian owned and operated two cryptocurrency investment funds between 2017 and 2020 — Virgil Sigma and VQR, the latter of which was founded in February 2020. Despite Virgil Sigma claiming to invest clients’ assets …

The man behind a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency scam has pleaded guilty to fraud this week according to the United States Department of Justice. Ohio man Michael Ackerman could face up to 20 years inside following his guilty plea for defrauding investors in a crypto scam he orchestrated in 2017. The too good to be true scheme lured hundreds of investors who deposited USD into a crypto fund called the Q3 Trading Club, which promised 15% monthly returns. U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss announced the guilty plea on Wednesday, stating that Ackerman admitted to causing …

Google has delisted eight allegedly fraudulent mobile apps from its Play Store that were duping crypto enthusiasts by charging fees for an illegitimate cloud mining service. Fraudulent mobile applications have now become a popular method to mislead unwary users with high success rates. Trend Micro’s latest research discovered eight Android applications that were exploiting crypto users by charging a monthly fee under the false pretext of running a legitimate cloud mining service. Further analysis into the matter uncovered that the malicious apps hosted by Google — posing as crypto mining applications — were deceiving users into watching paid ads and …

Crypto experts across the United Kingdom’s legal industry have announced the launch of the Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery (CFAAR), a network aimed at providing redressal against crypto-related fraudulent activities. The group includes a diverse range of professionals, such as “lawyers, barristers, forensic accountants, corporate intelligence and asset recovery experts.” The launch of the CFAAR network is attributed to the rise in fraudulent activities involving theft, initial coin offerings and ransomware attacks. Through a united approach from legal experts, CFAAR’s team intends to “respond robustly and effectively” to crypto crimes and fraud by providing “the best possible means of redress.” …

Riccardo Spagni, the former maintainer of the Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency, was arrested last month in Nashville, Tennessee on fraud charges tied to alleged offenses in South Africa between 2009 and 2011. Spagni was on board a private jet scheduled to fly to Los Cabos, Mexico when he was apprehended in Nashville during a scheduled refueling stop, according to court documents. His journey originally began just outside of New York City. The court documents state he is currently in the custody of the U.S. Attorney General. The arrest was made at the request of the South African government, which is seeking …

The owner of the crypto exchange Bitmart has filed a bid for pre-arbitration injunctive relief to prevent Chinese hackers from making illicit transfers using fraudulent Bitcoin SV (BSV) on its platform. According to a Monday report, GBM Global Holdings, Bitmart’s owner, filed its bid with a New York federal judge, despite the fraudulent activities taking place largely out of state. The company has argued that the Southern District Court of New York nonetheless has jurisdiction over "fraudulent or manipulative acts with foreseeable effects in New York'' and is therefore requesting that the judge intervene before the hackers are able to …

Senator and former United States presidential aspirant Elizabeth Warren has once again raised alarms about the current regulatory climate for crypto in the country. According to Reuters, Warren has written to Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, demanding answers about the scope of the SEC’s crypto oversight in the area of consumer protection. In a statement issued by Warren, the chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Policy bemoaned the lack of protection for crypto investors against the activities of rogue actors, adding: “These regulatory gaps endanger consumers and investors and undermine the safety of our financial …

Bithumb’s Hong Kong affiliates are reportedly facing a civil suit for breach of contract. According to a Tuesday report by the Korea Times, the suit is being initiated by a former Bithumb partner in Thailand, which is accusing the South Korean-headquartered exchange of unilaterally halting its business in Thailand and causing major losses. The Thai firm — which remains unnamed — is reportedly preparing to file a lawsuit against Bithumb’s Hong Kong subsidiaries, including Bithumb Global Holdings and GBEX, as well as top company executives in July. According to the plaintiff firm, Bithumb’s Hong Kong-based entities were allegedly involved in …

Self-described “Bitcoin King” Claudio Oliveira has been arrested and charged by Brazilian federal police for allegedly masterminding a 1.5-billion reals (roughly $300 million) fraud scheme involving crypto. Oliveira served as the president of Bitcoin Banco Group, a Brazilian crypto brokerage firm that has been under investigation since 2019 claiming to have lost 7,000 Bitcoin (BTC) in investor funds. According to a rough translation of a Monday press release, federal police from the Curitiba Metropolitan Region served Oliveira and other members of Bitcoin Banco Group with one preventive arrest warrant, four temporary arrest warrants, and 22 search-and-seizure warrants. Bitcoin Banco Group …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal as Director of the Division of Enforcement. The appointment will be effective from July 26, with the SEC adding the veteran prosecutor to its ranks to play a key role in regulating financial markets in the U.S. “He has the ideal combination of experience, values, and leadership ability to helm the Enforcement Division at this critical time. I look forward to working closely with him to protect investors and root out wrongdoing in our markets," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Grewal is a replacement …

According to a report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, unregistered securities offerings represent more than half of all crypto fines handed out by U.S. regulators. In Elliptic’s June 21 Sanctions Compliance in Cryptocurrencies report, the firm's co-founder and Chief Scientist, Dr. Tom Robinson writes that U.S. regulators have handed out $2.5 billion in fines for crypto-related violations since 2014. Out of the total $2.5 billion, unregistered securities offerings accounted for $1.38 billion worth of penalties, or 55.19% of all fines dished out. Fraud was the second biggest crypto violation found in the report, accounting for 37.12% or $928 million worth …

United Kingdom-based financial institution TSB Banking Group Plc. will soon ban its over 5.4 million customers from buying Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. According to a report by The Telegraph on Saturday, the bank’s imminent crypto ban is due to alleged cases of fraud associated with cryptocurrency transactions. Bank TSB has reportedly received a plethora of complaints from customers about crypto-related fraud cases. Indeed, the U.K. bank says about 12.5% of payments to crypto exchange platforms involve transactions as against one in 5,500 for non-virtual currency-related transfers. Crypto exchange giant Binance has reportedly been linked to the rising number of …