Two Estonians accused of $575mn crypto fraud

Two Estonian citizens were arrested in Tallinn, Estonia, on an 18-count indictment for their alleged involvement in a $575 million cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering conspiracy, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, both 37, allegedly defrauded hundreds of thousands of victims through a multi-faceted scheme, wherein they induced them…

US agent turned cartel mole claims DEA corruption

José Irizarry was cursed with a drug lord’s tastes and a civil servant’s salary. An agent of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Irizarry liked yacht parties with sex workers, jewelry from Tiffany, Louis Vuitton luggage and luxury cars. To finance his lifestyle – which came to include a BMW, two Land Rovers and three…

Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, Jewish cryptocurrency CEO, brings echoes of Bernie Madoff

Cryptocurrency maverick Sam Bankman-Fried, who famously became a billionaire under 30, is immersed in a reversal of fortune so vast and abrupt it has hit record proportions. Once considered a financial wunderkind, Bankman-Fried now faces legal battles, possible extradition and bankruptcy in a sudden shift from his previous high-profile status as a mythic entrepreneur, political…