ChainCatcher news, according to the Nevada Attorney General's Office, Las Vegas businessman Brent C. Kovar made his first court appearance on February 14 for alleged cryptocurrency fraud.Prosecutors accuse him of falsely claiming to use artificial intelligence to mine and verify cryptocurrency transactions through his company Profit Connect from the end of 2017 to July 2021, promising annual returns of 15%-30% and offering a full refund guarantee, defrauding approximately $24 million from over 400 investors.Kovar faces 12 counts of wire fraud, 3 counts of mail fraud, and 3 counts of money laundering, with a maximum sentence of 330 years in prison and a $4.5 million fine. The trial is set to begin on April 8, 2025.

ChainCatcher news, according to Wen Wei Po, National Committee member Wu Jiezhang will submit several proposals at the upcoming National Two Sessions in March. The proposals include improving the digital asset circulation mechanism to promote the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy.The proposals also suggest applying blockchain technology to build an information encryption system to combat cross-border telecom fraud, and propose specific measures such as establishing a multi-party collaboration mechanism and improving cross-border judicial cooperation.

ChainCatcher news, according to Beijing Business Daily, on January 10, the Ministry of Public Security held a press conference where spokesperson Zhang Ming introduced the telecom network fraud issues related to Myanmar that have garnered attention from various sectors. Since the deployment of a special operation to combat telecom network fraud crimes related to Myanmar in July 2023, the Ministry of Public Security has relied on the China-Myanmar law enforcement security cooperation mechanism, directing police forces in Yunnan, Zhejiang, and other regions to conduct joint operations, fully engaging in case investigations. By the end of 2024, over 53,000 Chinese nationals involved in fraud have been arrested, completely dismantling the notorious "Four Families" criminal group in Kokang, Myanmar. The large-scale telecom fraud parks near our border in northern Myanmar have been eradicated, and the special operation has achieved significant interim results, leading to a substantial decrease in the number of telecom network fraud cases and losses nationwide. Currently, cases involving the "Four Families" criminal group have begun to enter the litigation phase.Despite the significant achievements in combating and managing these issues, the current crime situation remains severe and complex. This includes: an escalating offensive and defensive confrontation, with fraud groups continuously updating and upgrading their criminal tools using new technologies such as blockchain, virtual currency, and AI intelligence.

ChainCatcher news, according to Beijing Business Daily, the Ministry of Public Security announced at a press conference on January 10 that as of the end of 2024, more than 53,000 Chinese criminal suspects involved in telecom fraud from northern Myanmar have been arrested, successfully dismantling the "Four Great Families" criminal group in northern Myanmar's Kokang.The Ministry of Public Security pointed out that although the crackdown has been effective, the crime situation remains severe. Fraud groups are continuously upgrading their criminal tools using new technologies such as blockchain, virtual currency, and AI intelligence. These gangs are well-organized and engage in illegal activities such as app development, traffic promotion, and money laundering through cross-border collaboration.Fraudsters customize scam scripts targeting different age groups, professions, and educational backgrounds, resulting in a wide range of victims. Although the telecom fraud parks near the Chinese border in northern Myanmar have been cleared, there are still numerous fraud dens abroad disguised as "technology parks" and "development zones."

According to ChainCatcher news and the official WeChat account of the Yuzhou Court, the Yuzhou People's Court publicly pronounced a verdict in a telecommunications network fraud case yesterday (December 27). The court found that the defendant, Wen, along with several accomplices, used fictitious identities to chat with foreign individuals. After gaining their trust, they induced them to purchase virtual currency to commit fraud. During this period, a total of 54,360 fraudulent messages were sent, and Wen illegally profited 2,400 yuan.After comprehensively considering the facts, nature, circumstances, and social harm of Wen's crime, the court sentenced the defendant Wen to three years of imprisonment for fraud, along with a fine of 20,000 yuan. After the verdict was announced, Wen expressed his intention to appeal in court.

ChainCatcher news, South Korean virtual asset exchange Upbit announced that it has refunded approximately 8.5 billion won (about 6.07 million USD) to around 380 victims of telecom fraud. The operator Dunamu utilized a real-time abnormal transaction monitoring system (FDS) to freeze the affected funds and collaborated with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to advance the refund process. In February of this year, refunds of about 5 billion won were made to 246 victims, and this time an additional 3.5 billion won was refunded to 134 victims.Upbit stated that it will continue to strengthen monitoring and collaboration to protect user assets from telecom fraud.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Aleksei Andriunin, the founder and CEO of cryptocurrency market maker Gotbit, accusing him of committing wire fraud and conspiracy to manipulate the market. It is reported that Andriunin artificially inflated cryptocurrency trading volumes through "fake trades" from 2018 to 2024 to help projects get listed on CoinMarketCap and cryptocurrency exchanges.Prosecutors pointed out that Andriunin provided fake trading services for meme coins including Robo Inu and Saitama, with illegal proceeds transferred to his personal Binance account. Previously, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Gotbit and three other cryptocurrency companies on October 9, seizing over $25 million in cryptocurrency. If Andriunin is convicted of wire fraud, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Other conspiracy charges could carry a maximum sentence of 5 years.ChainCatcher previously reported that the official Gotbit account posted on X stating: "Our CEO Alex Andryunin has been arrested in Portugal. We currently have no further details, but rest assured that your account with Gotbit is safe. Our goal is to prove the innocence of the company and CEO Alex Andryunin. We are fully prepared to cooperate with the authorities, provide all necessary documents to support the investigation, and quickly resolve this misunderstanding. We will update as soon as more information is available."

ChainCatcher news, the U.S. Attorney's Office stated in a release that Indiana man Evan Light pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and stole cryptocurrency worth over $37 million from nearly 600 victims.Court documents show that in February 2022, Light was involved in a cyber intrusion that targeted an investment holding company located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The documents also allege that Light was accused of stealing personal information, which he then used to steal assets from hundreds of victims.The statement said, "Under Light's control, the stolen cryptocurrency was subsequently transferred around the world, including to multiple mixing services and gambling websites, to conceal his identity and hide the virtual currency."

ChainCatcher news, Hunan police announced a major case involving cross-border telecom fraud using cryptocurrency. The case involves renting communication tools to overseas fraud gangs, with the amount involved exceeding 4 million yuan. The wallet address of the gang leader, Xia, shows that the cryptocurrency flow used for settling fraud commissions has reached over 9 million yuan, nearly 10 million yuan. The gang members mainly conduct transactions using the virtual currency USDT to evade traditional financial regulations.

ChainCatcher news, the founder of the cryptocurrency project CluCoin, Austin Michael Taylor, pleaded guilty to telecommunications fraud on August 15. Taylor leveraged his extensive social media influence to promote a digital token called "CLU" and successfully launched CluCoin's initial coin offering (ICO) on May 19, 2021.However, court records show that between May and December 2022, Taylor transferred approximately $1.14 million of investor funds into his personal accounts and squandered it in various online casinos.Taylor organized an event called "NFTCon: Into the Metaverse" to promote interest and investment in CLU, CluCoin, and related projects. Taylor's sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 31 at 10 AM, where he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Liaoshen Evening News, with the cooperation of police in Shenyang and Changchun, a telecom fraud case was solved in just 7 hours, and the suspect Yu was captured.It is understood that the suspect met Ms. Lü (pseudonym) online in early July and established a romantic relationship. Subsequently, the man claimed to be engaged in virtual currency investment and repeatedly persuaded Ms. Lü to participate. After the other party shared screenshots of high returns, on July 22, Ms. Lü withdrew 500,000 yuan in cash from the bank as requested and handed it over to the "investment manager" found by the man. However, not only did the "virtual currency" fail to arrive, but the man also suddenly went offline. Ms. Lü immediately reported to the police, and the Dannan Police Station of the Shenyang Shenhui Public Security Bureau quickly took action, identifying the "investment manager" Wang. That evening around 10 PM, police captured the suspect Wang near Shenyang North Station, but he only had 20,000 yuan in cash on him. It turned out that "investment manager" Wang was a helper hired by Yu. After successfully committing the crime, Yu gave 20,000 yuan to Wang as a reward. Yu then fled to Changchun with 480,000 yuan in illicit gains. Shenyang police quickly contacted Changchun police to apprehend Yu. Changchun police immediately set up surveillance and captured Yu at around 1 AM the next day while he was counting money at home, seizing 480,000 yuan in stolen funds on the spot.Currently, suspects Yu and Wang have been criminally detained by the public security authorities for suspected fraud, and the 500,000 yuan in cash that Ms. Lü was defrauded of has been fully returned.

ChainCatcher news, on July 22 local time, during a hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Antonya Perez Hernandez and Nestor Nunez admitted to conspiring to commit telecommunications fraud related to the Forcount scheme.It is alleged that Hernandez, Nunez, and others stole $8.4 million from primarily Spanish-speaking investors between 2017 and 2021 by promoting cryptocurrency trading and mining on Forcount, promising substantial returns.

ChainCatcher news, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday that three British individuals have been charged with orchestrating a $3 million scam related to the "Evolved Apes" NFT series. Mohamed-Amin Atcha, Mohamed Rilaz Waleedh, and Daood Hassan are accused of committing telecommunications fraud and money laundering in their scheme.The Department of Justice stated that the charges stem from a 2021 scheme aimed at enticing NFT collectors to purchase "10,000 unique" Ethereum-based NFTs, known as "Evolved Apes," which could then be used in an online battle game. The defendants collectively received 798 ETH, worth approximately $2.7 million at the time.Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement, "As alleged, the defendants inflated the prices of digital artwork by falsely promising to develop a video game. They allegedly took investors' money, never developed the game, and pocketed the proceeds."

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, this week, Indian citizen Chirag Tomar pleaded guilty to charges in the United States for creating a fake Coinbase website, thereby stealing the login credentials of the real site and stealing over $9.5 million in cryptocurrency from hundreds of victims.It is reported that Tomar was arrested on December 20, 2023, at Atlanta airport while he was visiting family on a tourist visa. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Wall Street Journal, Irina Dilkinska, the "Legal and Compliance Officer" of OneCoin, admitted on Thursday to charges of telecommunications fraud and money laundering for her involvement in what prosecutors described as a $4 billion global multi-level marketing scheme. She could face a total of 10 years in prison for these two charges.OneCoin was founded in 2014 in Sofia, Bulgaria, primarily promoting and selling the cryptocurrency of the same name. However, U.S. federal prosecutors stated that OneCoin was not a cryptocurrency with actual value, but rather a pyramid scheme in which the money from new buyers flowed to its leaders and others who sold the currency early on. Prosecutors claimed that over 3 million people invested in this, and OneCoin generated billions of dollars in revenue and profits.

ChainCatcher news, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security have launched the third batch of 5 major cross-border telecom network fraud cases for joint supervision and handling. Among them, the '9.06' telecom network fraud case in Putian, Fujian has been confirmed to involve an amount of over 30 million yuan, with more than 150 members in the gang. This criminal group has a clear hierarchical structure and defined roles, implementing fraud through online dating and inducing investment in virtual currencies. The public security organs have arrested more than 30 individuals.

ChainCatcher news, the Ministry of Public Security recently organized a regional campaign against telecom network fraud in the "E, Hunan, Shandong, and Henan" areas, directing the public security agencies of Shandong, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan provinces to simultaneously carry out concentrated strikes, successfully capturing a large number of suspects involved in fraud, dismantling over 3,300 criminal dens, and seizing 104,000 (units) tools used for crimes such as mobile phones, computers, and "two cards," as well as confiscating cash and virtual currencies (USDT) with a total value of over 58 million yuan. (source link)

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the seizure of $3.36 billion in cryptocurrency related to fraud involving the dark web Silk Road, with defendant JAMES ZHONG admitting to committing wire fraud in September 2012. This is the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice.In November 2021, U.S. law enforcement seized over 50,676 bitcoins hidden in devices at JAMES ZHONG's home. JAMES ZHONG has now admitted to illegally obtaining bitcoins from the dark web Silk Road in 2012. (Source link)

Chain Catcher News: Longyan police recently successfully cracked a case involving illegal operations related to digital renminbi, with a value of nearly 200 million yuan. The special investigation team traveled to multiple locations to conduct the investigation. A major lead in the case gradually emerged, indicating that a criminal gang led by Lai and Zhang was suspected of using digital renminbi, digital renminbi accounts, and virtual currencies to provide illegal fund settlement services for overseas gambling, telecom fraud, and other criminal activities. The amount involved is huge, with many individuals implicated, distributed across 13 provinces nationwide.On September 20, under the command of the Economic Investigation General Team of the Fujian Provincial Public Security Department, public security agencies at the city and county levels organized a unified operation, capturing 20 criminal suspects and seizing a batch of bank cards, successfully cracking this case involving illegal operations related to digital renminbi with a value of nearly 200 million yuan. (Source link)