ChainCatcher news, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong criticized the recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) into the cryptocurrency prediction market Polymarket.Armstrong expressed his dissatisfaction on social media, believing that the DOJ's actions are politically motivated and may inadvertently strengthen Polymarket's influence. It is understood that the ongoing investigation involves the search of electronic devices belonging to Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan.

ChainCatcher news, sources revealed that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the cryptocurrency prediction platform Polymarket, accusing it of accepting trades from U.S. users. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a search warrant for Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan and confiscated his phone and electronic devices.According to an agreement reached with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2022, Polymarket will block U.S. traders from trading on the platform. Polymarket stated in a release that the company will "stand up for ourselves and our community," and accused the FBI's search of being politically motivated, "Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps ordinary people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections."The company, led by Coplan, reached an enforcement settlement with the CFTC two years ago, agreeing not only to block U.S. users but also to pay a $1.4 million fine. The company has recently stated that it has taken additional measures to verify and block users suspected of being U.S. citizens or residents.

ChainCatcher news, Cointelegraph disclosed on X that the U.S. Department of Justice has applied to seize $160 million in cryptocurrency from Binance accounts related to FTX, claiming that these funds are connected to the bribery case involving Sam Bankman-Fried.According to Finance feeds, court documents state that Bankman-Fried sent $40 million in Tether to a private wallet on November 16, 2021, as a bribe to Chinese officials. After the account was unfrozen, "tens of millions" in cryptocurrency were used to pay the bribe.Prosecutors claim that since the account was valued at $8.6 million in December 2023, cryptocurrency prices have been rising, and the account currently holds about $18.5 million. The account and its five associated wallets show that Bitcoin and stablecoins are deposited "almost daily," which are then converted into various other cryptocurrencies. These assets include Solana, Cardano, XRP, Internet Computer, and Avalanche.Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison testified that the total bribe amounted to $150 million. On December 21, 2023, Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the seizure of the account during Bankman-Fried's trial, in which he was convicted of seven felonies.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has established a website to collect statements from individuals affected by the 2016 Bitfinex hacking incident, aiming to provide potential victims an opportunity to share how the criminal actions of Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan have impacted them.Although the DOJ's position is that, under the Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA), there are no victims of a convicted crime, the department has still issued this notice to the public to ensure that anyone who may have been harmed by the defendant's actions can be heard. This includes affected Bitfinex account holders.

ChainCatcher news, according to CNN, a U.S. federal judge stated that she would not block the U.S. Department of Justice from deploying monitors at polling places in St. Louis, dismissing a lawsuit filed by Missouri Republican officials. It is reported that the U.S. Department of Justice can send observers to election sites in St. Louis and Texas.U.S. District Judge Sarah Pitlyk, appointed by former President Donald Trump, pointed out that a previous court agreement between the city of St. Louis and the U.S. Department of Justice allows DOJ staff to oversee whether the city's polling places comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act; in another case, the U.S. Department of Justice was allowed to have Texas election monitors remain outside polling places on election day.

ChainCatcher news, CNN reporters stated on social media that the U.S. Department of Justice has sent a letter to Elon Musk's Super Political Action Committee (PAC), warning that its daily $1 million donations may violate federal law.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, Tether has announced that it has assisted the U.S. Department of Justice in freezing over $6 million in assets related to a Southeast Asian fraud scheme that deceived users by mimicking legitimate platforms. Tether froze the relevant assets and helped the U.S. Department of Justice quickly recover the funds, with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. publicly acknowledging Tether's assistance.Tether stated that it has assisted over 180 law enforcement agencies across 45 jurisdictions in freezing more than $1.8 billion worth of USDT, redistributing over $128 million of USDT to legitimate owners and law enforcement agencies, and voluntarily freezing more than 1,850 wallets associated with illegal activities.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the U.S. Department of Justice has seized domain names associated with three cryptocurrency exchanges that are accused of facilitating illegal transactions worth over $800 million, as part of a coordinated crackdown on Russian money laundering activities.According to a statement, the Department of Justice, in collaboration with the Department of the Treasury, the Secret Service, and international law enforcement partners, announced the indictment of Russian citizen Sergey Ivanov. Ivanov, also known as "Taleon," is accused of operating several money laundering companies that provide services to cybercriminals, including ransomware organizations and darknet drug traffickers.Previous news reported that the U.S. government sanctioned two Russian cryptocurrency exchanges, PM2BTC and Cryptex, related to underground financial activities, as well as two individuals.

ChainCatcher news, according to CNN, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an antitrust lawsuit against payment giant Visa, accusing it of monopolizing debit card payments. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated in a press release, "We accuse Visa of illegally accumulating the power to charge fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market."Visa responded that the lawsuit is baseless and will defend itself in court. Visa stated that it faces increasingly fierce competition, especially online.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that 12 defendants have been sentenced for their involvement in a series of violent home invasion incidents that resulted in the theft of cryptocurrency.Among them, Remy Ra St Felix from West Palm Beach, Florida, was sentenced to 47 years in prison for leading the incidents. These crimes involved the theft of over $3.5 million in digital assets, and those sentenced include several individuals responsible for planning and executing the robberies, which spanned multiple states.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that an early Bitcoin investor has admitted to "submitting a false report on his cryptocurrency earnings in his tax return." Texas resident Frank Richard Ahlgren III admitted to underreporting the capital gains from the sale of Bitcoin worth $3.7 million.According to court documents, Ahlgren purchased 1,366 Bitcoins in 2015, each worth no more than $500. In October 2017, he sold 640 Bitcoins for approximately $3.7 million and used the proceeds to buy a house in Park City, Utah. However, Ahlgren's 2017 tax return incorrectly inflated his cost basis for purchasing Bitcoin, resulting in underreported capital gains. Additionally, he did not report $650,000 in Bitcoin sales in 2018 and 2019.The Department of Justice stated, "Overall, Ahlgren caused a tax loss to the IRS of over $550,000."Ahlgren will be sentenced later. He faces a maximum of three years in prison, along with a period of supervised release, restitution, and fines. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, "the DOJ explained.

ChainCatcher news, it is reported that the U.S. Department of Justice has issued subpoenas to Nvidia (NVDA.O) and other companies to seek evidence of Nvidia's violation of antitrust laws, reflecting an escalation of the investigation.According to informed sources, previously, the Department of Justice only issued questionnaires to the relevant companies, but now it has made legally binding requests for information from the recipients. This means that the government's investigation is one step closer to formally filing a lawsuit. Insiders have indicated that antitrust officials are concerned that Nvidia is making it harder for customers to switch to other suppliers and punishing those buyers who do not exclusively use its AI chips. Both the Department of Justice and representatives of Nvidia declined to comment.In addition, Nvidia (NVDA.O) fell 9.5% on Tuesday, with a market value evaporating by nearly $280 billion, bringing its total market capitalization to $2.65 trillion.

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that Geoffrey K. Auyeung, a resident of Newcastle, Washington, has been charged in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency money laundering scheme, facing "conspiracy to commit money laundering and nine counts of money laundering through concealment or expenditure."The DOJ stated that Auyeung, who was arrested on August 12, posed as a custodial agent for oil and gas investments to defraud investors, subsequently transferring client funds to accounts under his control. "Once the funds entered accounts controlled by Auyeung, the money would quickly be transferred to other accounts, moved overseas, or used to purchase cryptocurrencies such as BTC, USDT, USDC, and ETH through cryptocurrency exchanges like Gemini, Bitstamp, and Coinbase." Investigators from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have traced $64 million flowing into 74 different bank accounts linked to Auyeung. The indictment seeks the forfeiture of approximately $2.3 million seized from Auyeung's bank accounts. "Millions converted into cryptocurrency from telecom fraud proceeds have been frozen and are awaiting seizure. HSI has identified 22 victims with total losses of $7.7 million. However, law enforcement believes there may be more victims," the DOJ noted.

ChainCatcher message, Trump posted on X: "The policy of the Department of Justice states that the Department should not take any action that could affect the election within 60 days of the election------but they just took such action. Voting will begin on September 6, so the Department of Justice has violated its own policy, and this is election interference. All these 'pranks' by Kamala or Biden should be immediately rescinded."

ChainCatcher news, according to Jin Shi citing Fox, Trump will sue the U.S. Department of Justice over the Mar-a-Lago search operation, claiming $100 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Fox News disclosed that Trump will sue the Justice Department over the Mar-a-Lago search operation, seeking $100 million in damages.

ChainCatcher news, according to News.bitcoin, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a pilot program for corporate whistleblower rewards to encourage reporting of corporate criminal activities. This three-year program (effective August 1) targets financial institutions, including cryptocurrency companies, to enhance the investigation and prosecution of corporate crimes. Whistleblowers providing non-public information that leads to forfeiture amounts exceeding $1 million are eligible for rewards.Eligible violations include money laundering, foreign corruption, domestic bribery, and healthcare fraud. The program is managed by the Criminal Division's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, emphasizing the importance of robust corporate compliance programs. To qualify for a reward, whistleblowers must submit truthful, voluntary, and complete information and fully cooperate with the DOJ's investigation. If a company voluntarily self-reports within 120 days of receiving an internal whistleblower report and takes action before the DOJ contacts them, it may be entitled to a presumption against prosecution under the Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Disclosure Policy.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the U.S. CFTC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) held the inaugural Fraud Disruption meeting this week to address crypto scams such as pig butchering. These scams result in billions of dollars in losses for Americans each year, making them a key enforcement priority.Participating agencies included the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, the Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the U.S. SEC.CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam emphasized the urgency of combating these schemes, stating, "It is shocking to hear the stories of countless Americans becoming targets of global criminal organizations." He highlighted the CFTC's commitment to strengthening customer protection initiatives against retail fraud.The focus of the meeting was on prevention strategies, the technological disruption of fraud, and collaborative law enforcement efforts. Participants also launched anti-fraud campaigns to alert Americans to emerging scam threats.