US DOJ Announces Four Cryptocurrency-Related Fraud Prosecutions | Perspectives & Events – mayerbrown.com

Consistent with its role as a leader in the investigation and enforcement of offenses involving cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, on June 30, 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced four separate enforcement actions related to cryptocurrency-related fraud and other misconduct, which are summarized below.¹ Notably, all four prosecutions involve alleged cross-border wrongdoing in the digital asset space prosecuted pursuant to long-standing fraud-based statutes.
The Enforcement Actions
These enforcement actions reflect the DOJ’s continued focus on a variety of cross-border wrongdoing in the digital asset space.
Takeaways
The DOJ’s recently announced enforcement actions suggest several key elements to the agency’s enforcement approach.
 
 
¹ Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Justice Department Announces Enforcement Action Charging Six Individuals with Cryptocurrency Fraud Offenses in Cases Involving Over $100 Million in Intended Losses (June 30, 2022), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-enforcement-action-charging-six-individuals-cryptocurrency-fraud.
² Indictment ¶ 1, United States v. Le Ahn Tuan, No. 2:22-cr-273-JLS (C.D. Cal), https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/file/1516756/download.
³ Id. ¶¶ 2-3, 32.
⁴ Id. ¶¶ 10, 34.
⁵ Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, supra note 1.
⁶ Id.
⁷ Id.
⁸ Indictment ¶¶ 1, 9-10, United States v. Stollery, No. 2:22-cr-207-JLS (C.D. Cal), https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/file/1516766/download.
⁹ Id. ¶¶ 21(a)-(d).
¹⁰ Id. ¶¶ 17-18.
¹¹ Id. ¶ 22.
¹² See generally Indictment, United States v. Saffron, No. 2:22-cr-276-DSF (C.D. Cal), https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/file/1516761/download.
¹³ Id. ¶¶ 18, 52.
¹⁴ Id. ¶¶ 20, 23.
¹⁵ Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, supra note 1
¹⁶ Id.
¹⁷ Id.
¹⁸ Report at 9, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, How To Strengthen International Law Enforcement Cooperation For Detecting, Investigating, And Prosecuting Criminal Activity Related To Digital Assets, (June 6, 2022), https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1510931/download.
¹⁹ Id. at 1.
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