{"id":840207,"date":"2025-04-09T18:15:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T23:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/aml-bitcoin-creator-found-guilty-in-pump-and-dump-case-linked-to-casino-jack\/"},"modified":"2025-04-09T18:15:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T23:15:22","slug":"aml-bitcoin-creator-found-guilty-in-pump-and-dump-case-linked-to-casino-jack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/aml-bitcoin-creator-found-guilty-in-pump-and-dump-case-linked-to-casino-jack\/","title":{"rendered":"AML Bitcoin Creator Found Guilty In Pump-and-Dump Case Linked to &#8216;Casino Jack&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bitcoins <\/p>\n<div data-module-name=\"article-header\" data-module-version=\"1.0.0\" data-module-instance=\"default\">\n<h2>Bitcoins AML Bitcoin Creator Found Guilty In Pump-and-Dump Case Linked to &#8216;Casino Jack&#8217;<\/h2>\n<h2>Bitcoins A jury in California convicted Rowland Marcus Andrade of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the sale of AML Bitcoin.<\/h2>\n<p><span>Updated Mar 13, 2025, 8:46\u202fp.m. <\/span><span>Published Mar 13, 2025, 5:36\u202fp.m. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-module-name=\"article-body\" data-module-version=\"1.0.0\" data-module-instance=\"default\">\n<p>A federal jury in the Northern District of California on Wednesday <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-ndca\/pr\/cryptocurrency-founder-and-ceo-convicted-wire-fraud-and-money-laundering-connection\">convicted cryptocurrency entrepreneur<\/a> Rowland Marcus Andrade of wire fraud and money laundering connected to the sale of a token called AML Bitcoin.<\/p>\n<p>The charges stemmed from an initial coin offering Andrade conducted for AML Bitcoin in 2017 and 2018. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/markets\/2020\/06\/25\/doj-indicts-founder-of-anti-money-laundering-bitcoin-project-for-money-laundering\">Early court filings covered<\/a> by CoinDesk alleged Andrade, a Texas resident, falsely told investors that AML Bitcoin tokens would ultimately be converted into a tradeable AML Bitcoin currency \u2014 a cryptocurrency that never launched and was named to resemble the popular Bitcoin token.<\/p>\n<p>The conviction marks the conclusion of one of the first and longest-running crypto &#8220;pump-and-dump&#8221; cases to involve U.S. federal prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Justice named famed D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff a co-conspirator and he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/markets\/2020\/07\/15\/disgraced-lobbyist-jack-abramoff-pleads-guilty-to-fraud-in-crypto-case\">pleaded guilty in 2020<\/a>, paying more than $50,000 in disgorgement and interest. Abramoff is better known for his involvement in a federal corruption scandal that resulted in his imprisonment and was depicted in the film <em>&#8220;Casino Jack.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p>A statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice accused Andrade of diverting &#8220;more than $2 million in proceeds from the sale of AML Bitcoin&#8221; and using it on &#8220;personal expenses, including the purchase of two properties in Texas and two luxury automobiles.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to the statement, Andrade also falsely claimed that the Panama Canal Authority was close to permitting AML Bitcoin to be used for ships passing through the Panama Canal when no such agreement existed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Fraudsters often tout new and innovative technology in order to raise money from investors. But raising money through lies and misrepresentations is neither new nor innovative. It&#8217;s unlawful, plain and simple,&#8221; said Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins. &#8220;If you deceive investors to enrich yourself and spend their money on personal expenses, homes, and property, you will be held to account.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Andrade is scheduled to be sentenced in July. According to the DOJ press release, &#8220;he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud count and 10 years in prison for the money laundering count, and forfeiture of all property that is traceable to his wire fraud and money laundering violations including property that Andrade bought in Texas.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-module-name=\"authors-block\" data-module-version=\"1.0.0\" data-module-instance=\"default\">\n<div>\n<h5><a href=\"http:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/author\/sam-kessler\">Sam Kessler<\/a><\/h5>\n<p>Sam is CoinDesk&#8217;s deputy managing editor for tech and protocols. His reporting is focused on decentralized technology, infrastructure and governance. Sam holds a computer science degree from Harvard University, where he led the Harvard Political Review. He has a background in the technology industry and owns some ETH and BTC. Sam was part of the team that won a 2023 Gerald Loeb Award for CoinDesk&#8217;s coverage of Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX collapse.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" title=\"X\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/skesslr\"><svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewBox=\"0 0 1400 1027\" fill=\"none\" aria-labelledby=\"twitter-svg-a11y-label-id\"><title id=\"twitter-svg-a11y-label-id\">X icon<\/title><path d=\"M714.163 519.284L1160.89 0H1055.03L667.137 450.887L357.328 0H0L468.492 681.821L0 1226.37H105.866L515.491 750.218L842.672 1226.37H1200L714.137 519.284H714.163ZM569.165 687.828L521.697 619.934L144.011 79.6944H306.615L611.412 515.685L658.88 583.579L1055.08 1150.3H892.476L569.165 687.854V687.828Z\" fill=\"#262626\" \/><\/svg><\/a><a target=\"_blank\" title=\"LinkedIn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/sam-kessler-746089b0\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M2.25362 9.21772H6.53986V22.1164H2.25362V9.21772ZM4.42543 3C2.95843 3 2 3.9631 2 5.22719C2 6.46529 2.93038 7.45638 4.36933 7.45638H4.39667C5.89171 7.45638 6.82276 6.46524 6.82276 5.22719C6.79471 3.9631 5.89176 3 4.42543 3ZM17.0638 8.91471C14.7886 8.91471 13.7693 10.1661 13.2007 11.0438V9.21772H8.91314C8.9699 10.4278 8.91314 22.1164 8.91314 22.1164H13.2007V14.9129C13.2007 14.527 13.2287 14.1427 13.3415 13.8663C13.652 13.0961 14.3574 12.2985 15.5407 12.2985C17.0931 12.2985 17.7131 13.4819 17.7131 15.2151V22.1163H22V14.72C22 10.7581 19.8856 8.91471 17.0638 8.91471Z\" fill=\"#262626\" \/><\/svg><\/a><a target=\"_blank\" title=\"Email\" href=\"http:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/mailto:sa*********@******sk.com\" data-original-string=\"cdrb5pUtBzQ7y4tTk29k2g==7f4+kT83enZ2obf9\/2dXeKDvpLdWAeaOFMZND7hL8maX8w=\" title=\"This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.\"><svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" fill=\"#262626\" version=\"1.1\" id=\"Capa_1\" viewBox=\"0 0 75.294 75.294\"><g><path d=\"M66.097,12.089h-56.9C4.126,12.089,0,16.215,0,21.286v32.722c0,5.071,4.126,9.197,9.197,9.197h56.9   c5.071,0,9.197-4.126,9.197-9.197V21.287C75.295,16.215,71.169,12.089,66.097,12.089z M61.603,18.089L37.647,33.523L13.691,18.089   H61.603z M66.097,57.206h-56.9C7.434,57.206,6,55.771,6,54.009V21.457l29.796,19.16c0.04,0.025,0.083,0.042,0.124,0.065   c0.043,0.024,0.087,0.047,0.131,0.069c0.231,0.119,0.469,0.215,0.712,0.278c0.025,0.007,0.05,0.01,0.075,0.016   c0.267,0.063,0.537,0.102,0.807,0.102c0.001,0,0.002,0,0.002,0c0.002,0,0.003,0,0.004,0c0.27,0,0.54-0.038,0.807-0.102   c0.025-0.006,0.05-0.009,0.075-0.016c0.243-0.063,0.48-0.159,0.712-0.278c0.044-0.022,0.088-0.045,0.131-0.069   c0.041-0.023,0.084-0.04,0.124-0.065l29.796-19.16v32.551C69.295,55.771,67.86,57.206,66.097,57.206z\" \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/author\/sam-kessler\"><img title=\"bitcoins\" alt=\"bitcoins Sam Kessler\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"417\" height=\"417\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\"  src=\"http:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/_next\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2Fs3y3vcno%2Fproduction%2F3245362940a48af98ee81066fb58a31d754a0f9f-417x417.png%3Fw%3D64%26h%3D64%26fit%3Dcrop%26crop%3Dfocalpoint%26auto%3Dformat&#038;w=1080&#038;q=75\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> Sam Kessler <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/policy\/2025\/03\/13\/aml-bitcoin-creator-found-guilty-in-federal-pump-and-dump-case\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AML Bitcoin Creator Found Guilty In Pump-and-Dump Case Linked to &#8216;Casino Jack&#8217; A jury in California convicted Rowland Marcus Andrade of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the sale of AML Bitcoin. Updated Mar 13, 2025, 8:46\u202fp.m. Published Mar 13, 2025, 5:36\u202fp.m. A federal jury in the Northern District of California on Wednesday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":840208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4041,1275],"tags":[11476],"class_list":{"0":"post-840207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bitcoin","8":"category-creator","9":"tag-bitcoins"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}