A former investment banker and registered broker has been sentenced for masterminding a $1.5 million crypto fraud scheme. In a new press release, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) says that Rashawn Russell, who used to work for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), has been sentenced to three years and five months behind bars. […]
The post Ex-Investment Banker and Registered Broker Busted in $1,500,000 Crypto Fraud Scheme: DOJ appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Rashawn Russell, a former Deutsche Bank executive, also intended to commit fraud with stolen bank cards.
On May 31, former investment banker Rashawn Russell was sentenced in Eastern New York District Court in Brooklyn to 41 months in prison for wire fraud in a cryptocurrency scheme and an unrelated access device fraud scheme. The former Deutsche Bank executive pleaded guilty to the charges in September.
According to the Justice Department (DOJ), Russell ran the fraudulent R3 Crypto Fund between November 2020 and August 2022. The fund promised to make cryptocurrency investments and pay large, sometimes guaranteed, returns. In reality, Russell used investors’ money for his personal benefit or to repay other investors. He also falsely claimed to have wired money to investors asking to be repaid.
Russell was also a registered broker with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He could have been sentenced to 30 years in prison on the charges. He was also ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to the victims of the crypto scheme.
A former executive of German financial giant Deutsche Bank has been handed a 30-year prison sentence for his role in a crypto fraud scheme. In a new press release, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says that ex-investment banker and registered broker Rashawn Russell has pleaded guilty to charges of perpetrating a crypto fraud scheme […]
The post Former Deutsche Bank Executive Faces 30 Years in Prison for Crypto Fraud: DOJ appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Rashawn Russell faces up to 30 years in prison for his role in the fraudulent cryptocurrency trading scheme.
A former Deutsche Bank investment banker, who was charged earlier this year in relation to a fraudulent cryptocurrency trading scheme, has pleaded guilty to investment fraud — and could face up to 30 years in prison.
According to a Sept. 19 statement from the Department of Justice, 27-year-old Rashawn Russell pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme where he operated a fraudulent crypto investment fund dubbed the “R3 Crypto Fund.”
Between Nov. 2020 and Aug. 2022, Russell defrauded 29 investors out of $1.5 million by leveraging his reputation as an investment banker and licensed financial broker to promise that he would be able to generate guaranteed, outsized returns on a series of crypto investments.
CRYPTO CRIMES CONTINUED: Former Deutsche Bank investment banker Rashawn Russell, who had denied defrauding investors in a #cryptocurrency fraud, today pled guilty in # EDNY. He was indicted in April & accused of duping investors by promising “guaranteed returns.” pic.twitter.com/Da0gYrbqqV
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) September 19, 2023
On multiple occasions, Russell lied to investors about their investments and fabricated multiple documents that displayed false information concerning their returns, according to the DOJ.
The prosecution found that Russell sent altered images of his bank balance to his investors. Another time, when an investor sought to cash in on one of their crypto investments, Russell never sent the money and instead sent his victim a fabricated money transfer confirmation.
According to prosecutors, most of the $1.5 million obtained from his victims was never used to invest in crypto assets. Instead, the funds were misappropriated by Russell and were used “for his personal benefit, to gamble, and to repay earlier investors,” in the scheme.
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In addition to his investment scheme, Russell also pleaded guilty for his role in a separate identity-theft scheme where he fraudulently obtained credit cards and other devices using false information.
The DOJ said Russell obtained these identity documents with the intention of using them to undertake illegal and unauthorized transactions.
Upon sentences, he faces up to 30 years in prison for his crimes — with United States Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara ruling that he will be required to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution.
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