Asante Kwaku Berko, a former managing director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) who was arrested on charges that he orchestrated bribes to Ghanaian officials while employed at the investment bank Goldman Sachs, has been extradited to the US from the UK. He is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Ghana to face charges in the Eastern District of New York related to his alleged involvement in a bribery scheme targeting Ghanaian officials.
Disbarred California attorney David Kagel, 85, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the crypto Ponzi scheme Circle Society that defrauded victims of more than $9.5 million. Kagel conspired with others to lure victims into a fraudulent crypto investment program promising high-yield profits through the use of AI trading bots. Kagel falsely claimed to hold Bitcoin worth approximately $11 million in escrow to instill trust, purportedly guaranteeing the victims' investments against any loss.
In another crypto case that marks a significant stride in the battle against cybercrime, Roman Sterlingov, a dual Russian-Swedish national, was found guilty by a federal jury in Washington, D.C., for operating the notorious darknet cryptocurrency “Mixer” and laundering $400M in cryptocurrency since 2011. The conviction underscores a stark warning to cybercriminals: the digital shadows will no longer shield illicit financial activities from the law's reach.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the seizure of nearly $9 million in stablecoin Tether. These seized funds were traced to cryptocurrency addresses allegedly associated with an organization that exploited over 70 victims through romance scams and cryptocurrency confidence scams, which are widely known as “pig butchering.” The DOJ also acknowledged Tether's cooperation.