Crypto and Payments Criminal Cases

A list of cases where crypto or payments went really bad, by Adam Atlas Attorney at Law 2019 . State Street Bank and Trust Co. violation of OFAC SDN screening rules, May 29, 2019 (See ). Tether and Bitfinex investigated for fraud by NYDFS, April 24, 2019 comments on stablecoin here Selling Bitcoin under Federal law, two early 2019 conflicting cases: Selling Bitcoin on exchanges for other people is MSB activity, FInCEN Re Erioc Powers, April 18, 2019. . Simply selling Bitcoin IS Federal MSB activity US v. Stetkiw USDC February 1, 2019 Simply selling Bitcoin is NOT Federal MSB activity, Forida v. Espeinoza, FLCA, January 30, 2019 . Coinflux CEO to be extradited from Romania to US on money laundering and other charges, January 5, 2019 2018 . OCC City National Bank of New Jersey Consent Order Re Compliance November 1, 2018 . This second order talks about not taking on any new MSBs as clients. Bitcoin Exchange not Registered with FinCEN, guilty, USDOJ, October 28, 2018 . . Payza Obopay NYDFS Cease and Desist, October 24, 2018 Ukyo.Loan / BitFunder / WeExchange securities fraud DOJ, July 23, 2018 . Payza and Two Canadian Brothers Accused of Operating an Unlicensed Money Service Business and Money Laundering, March 21, 2018 . Western Union fined $60 million by NYDFS for money laundering rule violations, January 4, 2018 . . Consent order text Woman jailed for buying and selling Bitcoin in Southern California, June 11, 2018 2017 Munchee, Inc. ICO MUN deemed investment contract by SEC, December 11, 2017 SEC concludes DOA ICO Tokens are securities, July 25, 2017. See FinCEN Notice. BTC-e, Russian Bitcoin Exchange shut down for money laundering, July 26, 2017. AlphaBay, largest online 'Dark Market' shut down by US DOJ, July 20, 2017. . Coin.mx principal gets 5 years in jail for illegal unlicensed MSB, June 28, 2017 . This is an important case because it sets a new precent in the personal liability of CCOs. FinCEN and SDNY settle claim against MoneyGram Chief Compliance officer for $250,000, May 4, 2017 Merchants Bank of California, N.A. assessment of civil money penalty by FinCEN for $7,000,000, February 16, 2017. 2016 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. fined $100 million by CFPB for opening 1,500,000 bank accounts that may not have been authorized and other infractions. . Liberty Reserve founder, Arthur Budovsky, sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegal money laundering, May 6, 2016 Gibraltar Private Bank fined $4 million by FinCEN for intentional AML BSA violations, Feb 2016. . Transferwise could not rely on authorized delegate status in New Hampshire, February 22, 2016 2015 Bill.com Consent Order in Pennsylvania for transmitting without a license, June 2015 Ripple Labs / XRP II, LLC fined $700,000 by FinCEN for violating BSA, May 2015 The Bancorp Bank FDIC Consent Order Re Third Party Programs, December 2015 NYDFS bans Promontory Financial Group,LLC from access to key reports, August 2015 US DOJ Speech on Prosecution of Bitcoin and Other Virtual Currency Cases, June 26, 2015 Discover FDIC Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Consent Order, May 2015 No criminal charges for Ripple Labs in BSA compliance case, May 5, 2015 Ripple Labs Inc. faces civil enforcement $700,00 penalty from FinCEN, May 5, 2015 Paypal settles for $7 million with U.S. Department of the Treasury for OFAC violations. 2014 FinCEN $1M Personal Liability for CCO of MoneyGram, December 2014 . BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem Arrested for Alleged Money Laundering The case was settled with a guilty plea. Bill.com transmitting money in Texas without a license, consent order. 2013 ToucPay Consent Order in New Hampshire for transmitting without a license, July 2013 : SilkRoad, the largely Bitcoin-based marketplace used largely for illegal products has its site and assets, including Bitoin, seized by U.S. Federal authorities, as reported in the New York Times. Square fined $500,000 by Florida for operating without a money transmitter license. Bitcion Foundation June 23, 2013: .(Sources and ) California’s Department of Financial Institutions ceases and desist Business Insider New York Times (via ) These domains were seized as part of the crackdown on the criminal bazaar at SilkRoad Tor 2011 QPay Consent Order in New Hampshire for transmitting without a license, December 2011