United States | FinTelegram News

Category: United States

September 6, 2024

Russian TV Presenter Charged with Sanctions Violations and Money Laundering!

Dimitri Simes, 76, a Russian-born U.S. citizen and former adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, and his wife Anastasia Simes, 55, have been charged by the U.S. government for violating sanctions and engaging in money laundering activities. The charges stem from his work with Channel One Russia, a state-controlled television network that was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022.

September 6, 2024

Two Nigerian Nationals Sentenced for $5M Business Email Compromise Scam

Two Nigerian nationals have been sentenced in the U.S. for orchestrating a BEC scheme that defrauded U.S. companies out of more than $5 million. Franklin Ifeanyichukwu Okwonna, 34, received five years and three months in prison and was ordered to pay nearly $5 million in restitution. His co-conspirator, Ebuka Raphael Umeti, 35, was sentenced to 10 years and ordered to pay the same amount in restitution.

September 5, 2024

New York Seafood Exporter and Wife Charged in Major Money Laundering and Acting as an Undisclosed Agent of China!

The US DOJ announced that Christopher Hu, owner of the New York-based seafood company Foodie Fisherman, and his wife, Linda Sun, have been charged with serious crimes, including money laundering and acting as agents for Chinese. Linda Sun, a former aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, allegedly used her political position to act as an undisclosed Agent of China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

September 4, 2024

SEC and Bankrupt Crypto Exchange FTX in Dispute Over Repayment Plan

Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has proposed a plan to repay its creditors using U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins, aiming to distribute between $14.5 billion to $16.3 billion—about $5.3 billion more than the initial owed amount. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may oppose this plan and has indicated it reserves the right to challenge the proposed transactions, Benzinga reports.

August 26, 2024

Big Business: SEC Awards $24 Million to Two Whistleblowers!

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) currently pays large sums to whistleblowers for their information and support of investigations. Just a few days ago, the US regulator announced a $98 million award to a whistleblower. Today, the SEC has awarded over $24 million to two whistleblowers whose information led to successful enforcement actions. Whistleblowing has become a big business.

August 17, 2024

Bitcoin Fog Founder Pleads for Leniency Following Conviction: A Legal Perspective

Roman Sterlingov, the founder of the cryptocurrency mixing service Bitcoin Fog, is seeking a reduced sentence after being convicted of money laundering and related charges. In a recent filing, Sterlingov's legal team argued that the government’s proposed sentence of 20 to 30 years in prison is disproportionately harsh, especially when compared to similar cases within the digital currency sphere.

August 14, 2024

SEC Halts $300 Million Ponzi Scheme Orchestrated by Atlanta-Based Firm Drive Planning LLC

The U.S. SEC has taken decisive action against Atlanta-based Drive Planning LLC and its founder, Russell Todd Burkhalter, for orchestrating a $300 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 2,000 investors. The SEC has obtained a preliminary injunction, an asset freeze, and other emergency relief measures to prevent further harm to investors, while a receiver has been appointed to oversee the operations of Drive Planning.

August 13, 2024

Leader of International Cybercrime Schemes Extradited to the US from Poland!

Maksim Silnikau, a dual-national of Belarus and Ukraine, has been extradited from Poland to the United States to face charges for his alleged role in leading international malvertising and ransomware schemes. These charges were unsealed in both the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Virginia, marking a significant development in the fight against global cybercrime.

August 11, 2024

Hunter Biden Accused of Involvement in Romanian Influence Scheme Amidst Ongoing Legal Battles

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, faces fresh accusations from federal prosecutors in his ongoing tax evasion case, who allege he accepted payments from a Romanian oligarch seeking to exert influence over U.S. government agencies. The charges form part of a broader legal case against Hunter Biden, who is accused of evading $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 while allegedly spending millions on luxury items, drugs, and escorts.

August 8, 2024

Cryptonator Founder Indicted for Handling $235 Million in Illicit Funds

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has indicted Roman Pikulev, a/k/a Roman Boss, a Russian national, for his role in founding and operating Cryptonator, an unlicensed crypto exchange alleged to have processed over $235 million in illicit funds. According to the indictment, Pikulev and his associates ran Cryptonator from 2014 until March 2023 and operated as an international money laundering scheme, catering primarily to criminals.

July 20, 2024

Bitzlato Founder Sentenced to Time Served over $700 Million Money Laundering Case!

On July 18, Judge Eric Vitaliano of Brooklyn's federal court sentenced Anatoly Legkodymov, the founder of the Bitzlato cryptocurrency exchange, to 18 months in prison, equivalent to the time he had already served. Legkodymov's sentencing followed his guilty plea to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business that concealed over $700 million in illegal proceeds from activities such as gambling and drug transactions.

July 19, 2024

The Ransomware War: Two Foreign Nationals Plead Guilty to LockBit Ransomware Involvement

In one of the largest ransomware cybercrime cases, two Russian nationals have pleaded guilty to participating in the notorious LockBit ransomware group. At its peak, this group was considered the most prolific and destructive ransomware variant globally. This group is known for launching attacks on various entities, including businesses, hospitals, schools, and even government agencies in the United States and internationally.

The Unraveling of Rabidi and the Rise of the SoftSwiss Network: Our Updated Forensic Report

A few months ago, FinTelegram released a first forensic report on the bankruptcy of Rabidi N.V., a Curacao-registered online casino operator with hundreds of millions in revenues — and no traceable assets by the time of its collapse in May 2024. That report already raised serious questions about the opaque structures behind Rabidi’s operations and its successor, Liernin Enterprises Ltd.

DeFi Decoded: Smart Contracts – The Code Behind the DeFi Revolution

Smart contracts are the invisible architects of decentralized finance. These self-executing lines of code run everything from token swaps to lending platforms without middlemen. But while they offer autonomy, they also introduce new risks—bugs, exploits, and irreversible mistakes. In this fourth installment of our FinTelegram DeFi Series, we explain what smart contracts are.

CFTC

Despite New Crypto Friendlyness: No Settlement Between U.S. CFTC And KuCoin?

A planned settlement between the U.S.CFTC and crypto exchange KuCoin is now in limbo due to a reported policy shift within the CFTC. This change is attributed to the Trump administration’s new approach, which deprioritizes enforcement actions against crypto companies. As a result, a CFTC attorney said that it is "unlikely that such authorization will be granted in the near term" regarding the settlement approval.

SEC’s New Era: Paul Atkins Sworn In—Will Crypto Finally Get the Regulatory Clarity It Deserves?

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has entered a new chapter with the swearing-in of Paul S. Atkins as its 34th Chairman, a move widely anticipated to mark a dramatic pivot in how the agency approaches crypto and DeFi regulation. For years, the financial industry—especially the burgeoning digital asset sector—has bristled under the SEC’s “Regulation by Enforcement” strategy.

Crypto Mogul Changpeng Zhao – Fallen, Rich, and Rising Again?

As spring 2025 blooms and Easter’s themes of rebirth fill the air, Changpeng Zhao emerges as one of the most controversial figures of startup mythology: a man who fell spectacularly, paid a price—then rose again, wealthier and louder than ever. Once the almighty architect of Binance, CZ now resides in Dubai with a net worth that Forbes estimates at $63 billion.