Following an undercover sting operation targeting wash trading in crypto assets, U.S. authorities announced that a total of 10 employees and executives from four different crypto firms are facing charges.
In three separate grand jury indictments, 10 people have now been charged with wire fraud and conspiracy charges, amid allegations that they engaged in similar market manipulation schemes to artificially inflate the trading volume and prices of various crypto assets through orchestrated wash trading.
The indictments against employees of four firms — Gotbit, Vortex, Antier and Contrarian — follow an undercover operation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the criminal investigation division of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that included the law enforcement agencies creating their own crypto tokens.
Three of the defendants in the case were arrested and extradited from Singapore and have now made an initial appearance in federal court in Oakland. Two of the defendants were arrested earlier and have pleaded guilty.
The allegations against the others have not been proven, and they are presumed to be innocent.
Previously, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Gotbit and one of its employees with regulatory violations stemming from its alleged provision of crypto wash trading services. And, last June, another employee of the firm was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy charges in a federal court in Boston.
The SEC, along with U.S. law enforcement, has also previously charged various other firms and individuals for allegedly engaging in manipulative trading involving crypto assets.