Securities fraud
Michael Avenatti sentenced to 4 years in prison for stealing from Stormy Daniels
Stormy Daniels and attorney Michael Avenatti are seen at The Abbey on May 23, 2018 in West Hollywood, California. Tara Ziemba | Getty Images A federal judge in New York on Thursday sentenced disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti to four years in prison for stealing from his former client, onetime adult film actor Stormy Daniels, who […]
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Do Kwon is unlikely to face prison time for $60 billion UST crypto wipeout — fines and lawsuits are more likely
Do Kwon, co-founder and chief executive officer of Terraform Labs, leaves the company’s office in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, April 14, 2022. Woohae Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images Do Kwon, the 30-year-old South Korean founder of a $60 billion stablecoin project that imploded last month, has a knack for convincing people to buy […]
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Former OpenSea employee charged in first-ever NFT insider trading case
U.S. prosecutors are now going after insider trading in the crypto industry. On Wednesday, prosecutors in New York’s Southern District charged and arrested Nathaniel Chastain, a former product manager at the online marketplace OpenSea. The 31-year-old faces one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, in connection with a scheme to commit […]
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Fraud had ‘significant’ role in $163 billion leak from pandemic-era unemployment system
Courtneyk | E+ | Getty Images More than $163 billion in benefits likely leaked from the unemployment system during the pandemic, with a “significant portion” attributable to fraud, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report. Congress created many new programs in March 2020 to support millions of people who lost their jobs from the […]
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Five U.S. states order a metaverse casino with alleged ties to Russia to halt sale of NFTs
Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards Source: Flamingo Casino Club Regulators in five states simultaneously filed emergency orders Wednesday against a virtual casino they say has ties to Russia and that has been operating in the metaverse, a digital world where participants can interact with each other, purchase products and even gamble. State law enforcement officials […]
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France becomes first big European nation to grant crypto giant Binance regulatory approval
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao gave a keynote at a Paris crypto industry event in April 2022 to debut a new accelerator program for so-called “Web3” start-ups. Benjamin Girette | Bloomberg | Getty Images Binance has been granted approval from regulators to operate its cryptocurrency exchange in France. The company is now listed as a registered […]
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Citi says a trader error caused Europe’s ‘flash crash’. Here’s how it unfolded
Citigroup said it had identified the cause of the flash crash and corrected the error “within minutes.” Jim Dyson | Getty Images News | Getty Images A so-called “flash crash” in European markets on Monday prompted several indexes to tumble sharply, sparking alarm among investors on a day when trading was thin due to public […]
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SEC nearly doubles crypto unit staff to crack down on abuses in the booming market
Gary Gensler Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday that it will almost double its staff responsible for protecting investors in cryptocurrency markets. The regulator’s Crypto Assets and Cyber team, a unit of the SEC’s broader Enforcement division, will increase its head count by 20 for a total […]
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Cryptocurrency group lobbies Congress against bills that target Russian oligarchs
The cryptocurrency industry has been quietly lobbying U.S. lawmakers against legislation designed to prevent Russian oligarchs from using digital currencies to evade sanctions imposed on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies and their companies following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The Blockchain Association, a lobbying group that represents more than 70 crypto platforms including Ripple, Crypto.com and […]
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Prosecutors search Deutsche Bank HQ in money laundering investigation
A logo stands on display above the headquarters of Deutsche Bank AG at the Aurora Business Park in Moscow, Russia. Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images Prosecutors, federal police and other officials searched Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt on Friday in a move Germany’s largest lender said was linked to suspicions of money laundering it […]
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