Rashawn Russell, a former investment banker and registered broker, has been accused of defrauding multiple investors by a federal court in Brooklyn, New York.
According to court documents, Russell tricked investors into making fake cryptocurrency investments by promising high returns and then used the money for personal expenses. He allegedly took advantage of the growing demand for crypto investments to deceive investors and persuade them to invest their fiat savings in cryptocurrencies.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has revealed that the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, plans to pursue the case against Russell. Peace claims that Russell manipulated the request for cryptocurrency investments into a scam to deceive multiple investors and finance his lifestyle. He said;
“This Office will continue to aggressively pursue fraudsters perpetrating these schemes against investors in the digital asset markets.”
Russell allegedly used funds from persuaded investors, leveraging his past experience as an investment banker and registration as a broker with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, to gamble and reimburse other investors involved in the fraudulent cryptocurrency investment program.
The DOJ’s report states that Russell lied to investors about the status of their investments and fabricated multiple documents to deceive them. For instance, he sent an investor a doctored image of a bank balance displayed on a bank website to portray his significant liquidity.
Furthermore, when another investor demanded the retrieval of their investment, Russell failed to transfer the money and instead forwarded a counterfeit bank wire transfer confirmation to indicate that the funds had been repaid.
Although Russell has been charged in the indictment, he is considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If found guilty, he could face a maximum of 20 years in prison. The DOJ has also urged other investors who believe they may have been victims of the alleged crime to come forward.
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