Federal grand juries indicted 10 executives and employees for orchestrating pump-and-dump schemes that defrauded investors across the United States and beyond.
The charges target employees at Gotbit, Vortex, Antier, and Contrarian. Three defendants, including two CEOs, were arrested and extradited from Singapore. Gotbit itself already faced consequences from the earlier phase of Operation Token Mirrors.
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“In addition to the three extradited defendants, two others have already pled guilty and were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín,” the press release said.
The indictments stem from an undercover operation run jointly by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Federal agents created several cryptocurrency tokens to expose illicit wash trading services offered by market-making firms.
Wash trading is a form of market manipulation where a coordinated trader or traders repeatedly buy and sell an asset to create the illusion of high trading activity. This artificial volume can mislead investors, inflate perceived demand, and distort prices.
The ten defendants hold nationalities spanning Russia, India, Taiwan, and Serbia. That international spread highlights how crypto market manipulation operates across borders.
More than $1 million in cryptocurrency has been seized so far. Moreover, each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.
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