ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, court documents show that the FBI successfully thwarted a kidnapping extortion case against a Miami jeweler, where the criminal gang intended to steal the victim's cryptocurrency worth $2 million.Four suspects, Evan Puckett, Tre'von Anthony Neal, Zacary Briggs, and Aaron Hammond, have been arrested and are charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and attempted kidnapping. Reportedly, the gang leader "Jack" organized the kidnapping plan via Telegram and referred to the gang members as "muscle."The suspects originally planned to carry out the kidnapping on January 13, armed with a Mac-10 and a .223 assault rifle. After receiving a tip-off, the FBI successfully apprehended all suspects by installing tracking and recording devices in the vehicle intended for the kidnapping. The four suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial and will appear in court in Florida on Tuesday.

ChainCatcher news, as Bitcoin reaches an all-time high, FBI Baltimore Division agent David Paniwozik has noticed an increasing number of criminals attempting to profit from cryptocurrency scams. A major issue is that investors are still unfamiliar with the technology, making them more susceptible to fraud.SA Paniwozik warns, "Whether you want to transfer $1, hundreds of millions, or billions, there is no limit. You can seamlessly transfer it from a wallet controlled in the U.S. to a wallet controlled overseas in just seconds. Scammers have set up their own cryptocurrency exchanges, convincing you that your investment is growing exponentially, or they say you must pay cryptocurrency to 'unlock' jobs that offer high returns."SA Paniwozik has recently observed a surge in reports of employment scams involving cryptocurrency. Losses reported in Maryland increased from $32,033 in 2023 to $3.8 million from January to October this year. "Thus, in Maryland alone, the average person has lost about $15,000 to $20,000 due to these scams," SA Paniwozik added.According to the FBI's 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report, complaints related to cryptocurrency account for only about 10% of total financial fraud complaints, but the amount stolen accounts for nearly 50% of total losses.

ChainCatcher news, according to informed sources, President-elect Trump is considering a reshuffle of the leadership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), including the dismissal of the FBI Director.Informed sources revealed that Trump is considering appointing former FBI agent and former Michigan Congressman Mike Rogers as the next FBI Director, while appointing former federal prosecutor Kash Patel as the Deputy Director of the FBI.

ChainCatcher news, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been investigating a cryptocurrency pig butchering scheme involving $5 million since August, targeting 71 victims through fraudulent investment plans. Court documents reveal that the scammers used fake social media profiles to lure individuals into a fraudulent trading platform called Bitkanant.In August, federal prosecutors in North Carolina executed a search warrant and seized an unmanaged USDT wallet worth over $4.99 million, which initiated the investigation. These funds are currently held by the U.S. Marshals Service.

ChainCatcher news, according to The New York Times, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) searched the home of the founder of the Polymarket betting site. Three insiders stated that the search of Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan is part of a criminal investigation.Polymarket claims that the raid is retaliation against its users for overwhelmingly betting that Trump will win the election. The site showed a high probability of Trump winning before the election, while the likelihood of Harris winning was very low, which is inconsistent with most mainstream polling results.Previous report, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the cryptocurrency prediction platform Polymarket, accusing it of accepting trades from U.S. users.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) successfully recovered $8.3 million that was embezzled by the former CEO of a Kansas bank, which was stored in a cryptocurrency account in the Cayman Islands. On Monday, November 4, 2024, in a federal court in Kansas, 30 community bank shareholders erupted in relieved sobs upon learning they would fully recover their investments.In August of this year, former CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank in Kansas, Shan Hanes, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for embezzling $47 million in customer funds and transferring it to a cryptocurrency account operated by scammers. Prosecutors stated that Hanes also stole funds from churches, investment clubs, and his daughter's college fund, losing $1.1 million of his personal money in the scheme. Hanes's bank was closed and sold by federal regulators due to depleted funds. The $47.1 million in customer deposits was insured and compensated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). However, the $8.3 million investment of the 30 community bank shareholders was once thought to be lost.Prosecutors indicated that Hanes fell victim to a scam known as a "pig butchering" scheme. In this type of scam, a third party gains the victim's trust and over time persuades them to invest all their funds in cryptocurrency, after which the money disappears immediately. Hanes began purchasing cryptocurrency he believed was worth $5,000 at the end of 2022, communicating with someone who contacted him via WhatsApp. By the summer of 2023, he had transferred $47.1 million in customer funds through 11 wire transfers in just 8 weeks.

ChainCatcher news, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a man from Alabama for his involvement in the January 2024 hacking of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) X account, an incident that caused a surge in Bitcoin prices.In January 2024, hackers posted false news claiming that the SEC was expected to release an announcement regarding Bitcoin, which led to a spike in cryptocurrency prices. An SEC spokesperson confirmed in a statement to The Guardian that the unauthorized posts on the @SECGov account "were not drafted or created by the SEC."

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, on-chain data shows that the FBI's token was created in late May, and the law enforcement agency apparently profited from the token before stopping trading 21 days ago.When the NexF liquidity pool was created on the decentralized exchange Uniswap, the token's deployer provided approximately 5 ETH of liquidity, worth $12,000 at the time, along with 50 billion NexF. Months later, when 43 billion NexF were withdrawn from the pool, the wallet gained approximately 11 ETH of liquidity, worth $26,500, resulting in a profit of $14,500 for the token's deployer.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been criticized for allegedly violating the terms of the MIT License in its smart contracts. X user 0xCygaar (self-identified as an AbstractChain contributor) publicly accused the agency of not properly including the required license attribution when using the OpenZeppelin library (an open-source code resource). If confirmed, this omission could constitute a violation of copyright law, as the MIT License explicitly requires that any substantial use or modification of its code includes the original license. X users claim they have warned the FBI to "take necessary measures against the FBI."The MIT License governs the use of blockchain technology, particularly within the Ethereum ecosystem. It can be distributed, modified, and used for free as long as the original license terms are followed. A public inspection of the FBI's smart contract on Etherscan shows that the code is marked as "unlicensed," sparking varied reactions from the community. The implications of the alleged violation could be serious, as the MIT License, while generally considered developer-friendly, is legally binding, and if OpenZeppelin chooses to do so, it can take legal action by sending a cease-and-desist order requiring the FBI to rectify the violation or stop using the code. However, any formal lawsuit against the FBI would face challenges due to sovereign immunity.

According to ChainCatcher news, monitored by Lookonchain, the FBI has created a token and company named "NexFundAI" on Ethereum to identify and combat these suspected fraudsters and bring them to justice.On-chain data shows that a wallet that previously manipulated SAITAMA to earn over 11 million dollars transferred 0.01 ETH to the deployer of NexFundAI. This manipulating wallet only spent 7,357 dollars to purchase 875.8 trillion SAITAMA.Then, the wallet sold 687.66 trillion SAITAMA on-chain for 8.85 million dollars and deposited 737 trillion SAITAMA (worth 2.75 million dollars) into CEX. During this period, the manipulator also repurchased SAITAMA, spending only 253,000 dollars.By manipulating SAITAMA, this wallet address earned over 11 million dollars.

ChainCatcher news, a member of the Abstract Chain team @0xCygaar pointed out on the X platform that the FBI is suspected of violating the MIT License when issuing the token NexFundAI.The staff member stated that the FBI directly copied several library files from OpenZeppelin in its smart contract but failed to attach the required license declaration in the code, constituting copyright infringement. According to the MIT License, all copies or substantial portions of the software must include the license declaration.Previous news, the FBI had previously created a token called NexFundAI on Ethereum to identify and combat these suspected fraudsters and bring them to justice.

ChainCatcher news, according to Reuters, the FBI has created a token named NexFundAI on Ethereum to identify and combat these alleged fraudsters and bring them to justice.It is reported that the FBI is discussing cooperation with market makers using the identity of the company and the token. One of the defendants explained that his company uses bots to buy and sell simultaneously on CEX to generate trading volume.Previous news, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed market manipulation charges against four cryptocurrency companies and their related personnel. These companies include Gotbit, ZM Quant, CLS Global, and MyTrade, accused of manipulating the market through "wash trading" to lure investors into "pump and dump" schemes.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly filed lawsuits on October 9 against four cryptocurrency companies suspected of fraud and market manipulation, including Gotbit Consulting, ZM Quant Investment, and CLS Global. Two lawsuits were also filed against individuals related to the case, with a total of nine individuals being charged, some of whom agreed to settle separately.Gotbit Consulting and its market director Fedor Kedrov are accused of manipulating the market through wash trading on behalf of individuals promoting cryptocurrencies named Saitama and Robo Inu. The other two companies, ZM Quant Investment and CLS Global, face nearly identical charges, all related to a token called NexFundAI. NexFundAI was created by the FBI. ZM Quant and four individuals associated with Pham are also charged in connection with another cryptocurrency asset, SaitaRealty coin.The Department of Justice listed 18 individuals and another company, MyTrade MM, which also provided services for NexFundAI, facing charges in these consolidated cases.The individuals involved in this case are distributed across multiple countries, including the United States, Russia, and India, reflecting the complexity and breadth of the case.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the complaint released by the FBI shows that Adam Iza, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange platform Zort, is suspected of paying up to $280,000 per month in bribes to three officers of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) to illegally obtain search warrants and sensitive police data.The FBI investigation revealed that Iza used this illegally obtained information to extort and harass a victim codenamed E.Z., attempting to gain access to their laptop used for storing cryptocurrency. Case details disclosed that Iza had attempted to kidnap E.Z. and intimidated the victim by sending personal information from the police database.Additionally, the complaint also accuses Iza of concealing tens of millions of dollars in income and failing to pay income taxes between 2020 and 2022. The FBI stated that Iza paid bribes to officers through his company Zort and other affiliated entities, with individual payments sometimes approaching $200,000. Iza has now been charged with conspiracy to violate rights and tax evasion.