DOJ

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is under scrutiny after a court file involving a crypto fraud case tied to executives at MoonPay was briefly inaccessible to the public. Federal prosecutor Jeanine Pinto claims it was an “administrative error,” not an intentional cover-up. According to her, there was never a formal request to seal the case entirely—the aim was only to redact the company's name to protect victims.

🕵️‍♂️ Scammer Posed as Trump Ally and Defrauded Investors
The case centers around a Nigerian fraudster who impersonated real estate mogul Steve Witkoff, co-chair of Trump’s 2017 Inaugural Committee, to trick two victims out of $250,000 worth of Ethereum.
📧 He used a typographical trick—replacing the lowercase “l” with an uppercase “I” in the domain “inaugural” to send emails from steve_witkoff@t47lnaugural.
According to the complaint, the victims included MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright and U.S. CFO Mouna Ammari Sialy. Though their names were redacted, blockchain transaction references and wallet addresses matched publicly known data linked to them, making their identities traceable.

🔐 DOJ Says Sealing the Case Was Unintentional
Pinto stated that DOJ never asked to seal the entire file—only to publish an edited version of the complaint with company names removed. Still, the case file was completely inaccessible on Monday, raising transparency concerns.
“Once we realized the mistake, the file was unsealed within hours,” Pinto told NOTUS.

“Court officials admitted that we never asked for it to be sealed.”

📄 Were MoonPay Executives Prioritized in Fund Recovery?
Critics argue the issue goes beyond transparency—they allege that the DOJ prioritized recovering stolen funds for MoonPay executives while other victims were left behind.
MoonPay has past ties to Trump-linked crypto projects, having served as the exclusive trading partner for the $TRUMP memecoin, and its executives reportedly boasted about the token’s success.
“If you’re a Trump-friendly crypto player, the DOJ will actively try to recover your funds,” said Mark Hays from Americans for Financial Reform.

“Other victims don’t get that same treatment.”

🗂️ Unusual Level of Secrecy Raises Red Flags
A former federal prosecutor who recently left the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office anonymously stated that sealing an entire case without a formal motion is extremely rare. Typically, only sensitive parts of a file—such as medical records or national security materials—are kept sealed.

🧾 Summary
The U.S. Department of Justice finds itself under fire over its handling of a crypto fraud case involving MoonPay executives, a fake Trump associate, and concerns about preferential treatment for elite victims. While the DOJ describes the sealing as a mere clerical error, critics see troubling connections between power, politics, and selective justice.

#DOJ , #CryptoFraud , #TRUMP , #CryptoCrime , #CryptoNews

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Notice:
,,The information and views presented in this article are intended solely for educational purposes and should not be taken as investment advice in any situation. The content of these pages should not be regarded as financial, investment, or any other form of advice. We caution that investing in cryptocurrencies can be risky and may lead to financial losses.“

Federal investigators are working to recover $7.1 million in cryptocurrencies allegedly tied to a fraudulent oil and gas investment scheme worth a total of $97 million.

Investigation Uncovers Complex Money Laundering Operation
Geoffrey K. Auyeung of Washington State has been indicted in a large-scale scheme where investors believed they were sending money to legitimate escrow agents managing oil tank storage leases in Houston and Rotterdam. Instead, the funds were routed through shell companies like Sea Forest International and Apex Oil and Gas Trading—ending up in accounts controlled by Auyeung.
Authorities discovered the funds were transferred through over 80 bank accounts and at least 19 crypto wallets, with victims left empty-handed and without recourse.

Crypto as a Tool for Laundering Illicit Gains
The laundered funds were eventually converted into Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and USD Coin, some of which were transferred via Binance. These transactions attempted to obfuscate the origin of the money through international financial pathways, including IP addresses traced to Russia and Nigeria—making the trail harder to follow.

DOJ Seeks Asset Forfeiture and Restitution
On July 22, federal prosecutors in Washington filed a civil forfeiture action for $7.1 million in crypto assets, which were previously frozen in connection to the case. The funds are intended to be returned to at least 22 confirmed victims, though that number is expected to grow as the investigation continues.
Earlier, authorities had seized $2.3 million in fiat assets, and more crypto funds were frozen by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in December.

Blockchain Transparency Aids DOJ Efforts
This case highlights the growing capability of the Justice Department to track and seize misused crypto assets thanks to blockchain transparency. Investigators were able to follow the money in real time using advanced analytics tools like Chainalysis, identifying both the perpetrators and the flow of funds.

Why This Matters
🔹 Blockchain is not anonymous cover – Public transaction records allow law enforcement to trace money, even behind pseudonymous addresses.

🔹 Layering strategy – Moving funds through multiple accounts and wallets is a classic laundering tactic.

🔹 International reach – Use of global IPs adds complexity, but blockchain traceability remains a key asset.

🔹 Restitution is possible – Crypto, once identified and frozen, can often be returned to victims faster than traditional fiat funds.

Summary
The DOJ is pursuing $7.1 million in crypto to be returned to victims of a fraudulent oil investment scheme.Investigators found that Auyeung laundered funds through 80+ bank accounts and 19+ crypto wallets.Blockchain transparency proved critical in tracking and securing misappropriated assets.The case underscores that cryptocurrencies are not beyond the reach of justice - and that victims may indeed be made whole again.

#CryptoFraud , #DOJ , #Cryptoscam , #MoneyLaundering , #CryptoNews

Stay one step ahead – follow our profile and stay informed about everything important in the world of cryptocurrencies!
Notice:
,,The information and views presented in this article are intended solely for educational purposes and should not be taken as investment advice in any situation. The content of these pages should not be regarded as financial, investment, or any other form of advice. We caution that investing in cryptocurrencies can be risky and may lead to financial losses.“

Crypto industry leaders have sent a letter urging the White House to drop the criminal case against Roman Storm – co-founder of Tornado Cash, who is accused of money laundering. Can pressure from the crypto community change the landscape? Let's analyze in detail.

Pressure from the Crypto Community: Drop the Case Against Roman Storm

On Monday (04/21/2025), the DeFi Education Fund, along with venture capital funds such as Paradigm, Multicoin Capital, and 6th Man Ventures, sent a letter to David Sacks – crypto and AI advisor to the White House – requesting the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to withdraw the 'unlawful' charges against Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash. Storm was indicted in the Southern District Court of New York on charges of money laundering, violating U.S. sanctions, and operating an unlicensed money transmission service. The trial is expected to take place in July in Manhattan.

🔔 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (09/04/25)

1️⃣ Argentine Congress Approves Probe into Officials Over Libra Scandal ‼️

Argentina's Chamber of Deputies voted Tuesday to advance three draft resolutions that would establish a special commission to investigate government officials connected to the Libra memecoin scandal. For context, the scandal has plagued President Javier Milei's administration since February. Milei faced calls for impeachment and fraud charges after he publicly endorsed the Libra token, which collapsed in value and caused damages to investors. The list of officials to be summoned as part of the investigation includes the country's chief of staff, minister of economy, minister of justice and head of the National Securities Commission (CNV).

2️⃣ Aavegotchi NFT Gaming Community Votes To Migrate To Base, Sunset Polygon Deployment ⚡️

The community behind Aavegotchi, an NFT protocol focused on Web3 gaming, has reportedly voted to migrate from its existing deployment on Polygon to Base, the Etheruem Layer 2 supported by Coinbase. As part of the move, Pixelcraft Studios, the development firm behind Aavegotchi, will sunset its “Geist” Layer 3. All Aavegotchi assets will be minted “1:1” on Base. The migration is expected to take four to six weeks, including an audit period.

In a proposal in February, Aavegotchi founder coderdan wrote,

Given the broader market downturn on alts, especially in NFT and gaming, Pixelcraft Studios recently made significant team cuts to reduce our burn and extend runway. The L2 market is becoming increasingly competitive, and the L3 market is not gaining significant traction. Although in theory it should not be important where you deploy your game, in practice eyeballs go where liquidity flows, and TVL on Polygon PoS has been sideways or decreasing ever since 2022. Thus, it is the right move for Aavegotchi to leave Polygon and either create our own chain, or join a growing chain with strong ecosystem support.

3️⃣ Ripple Acquires Crypto-Friendly Prime Broker Hidden Road For $1.25B 💰
#Ripple
Blockchain-based payments network Ripple has reportedly acquired crypto-friendly prime broker Hidden Road in a $1.25 billion deal, marking one of the largest mergers in the crypto industry's history. Notably, the deal will make Ripple the first crypto firm to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker. For context, Hidden Road currently clears more than $3 trillion across more than 300 institutions. Commenting on the acquisition, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse noted that the firm has been a customer of Hidden Road for years and “knows their breadth of expertise firsthand.” He also mentioned that Hidden Road’s $3 trillion in annual clearing will tap into Ripple-backed XRP and its underlying decentralised, public blockchain, the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

4️⃣ DOJ Will Shutter Crypto Unit, Back Off Services Like Tornado Cash ▶️
#DOJ
The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly disbanding the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET). According to an agency memo circulated Monday evening, the crypto-dedicated enforcement team will no longer pursue criminal cases in several key crypto-related areas. This includes criminal charges against crypto exchanges, crypto mixing services, or holders of cold wallets for “acts of their end users or unwitting violations of regulations” unless those violations include crimes like embezzlement, scams, rug pulls, and hacks. Notably, in cases where a criminal enterprise like the Lazarus Group uses a crypto service to launder funds, prosecutors will only pursue the criminal enterprise itself, and “will not pursue actions against the platforms that these enterprises utilise to conduct their illegal activities.”

5️⃣ Melania Solana Meme Coin Team Quietly Dumps $30 Million in Tokens: Bubblemaps 🔍
#solana According to blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps, the team behind MELANIA (a meme coin linked to U.S. First Lady Melania Trump) has moved and “quietly sold” $30 million worth of the token out of the project’s community funds. Onchain data shows that the tokens were moved to a single wallet before being “split across multiple addresses.” Neither the project team nor “launch strategist” Hayden Davis has offered any explanation for the movement of the assets yet.