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✅ Federal prosecutors in Boston have filed the first criminal charges against financial firms for cryptocurrency market manipulation and money laundering.
✅ Eighteen individuals and entities have been charged with fraud and market manipulation on a large scale, including the heads of market making firms Gotbit, ZM Quant, CLS Global, MyTrad
✅ Four defendants have pleaded guilty and another has agreed to plead guilty. Three people have been arrested in Texas, the United Kingdom, and Portugal. More than $25 million in cryptocurrency has been seized, and trading bots responsible for phony trading in about 60 digital assets have been disabled.
🎯 According to the indictment, the defendants artificially inflated trading activity to create the appearance of active trading, which “helped position the tokens as good investments.” These fraudulent practices allegedly attracted new buyers, causing the asset price to rise. The defendants then sold their tokens at inflated prices.
