US Prosecutors File Charges Against 3 Crypto Companies

15 individuals and three companies involved in cryptocurrency have been charged with fraud and market manipulation following an FBI-led investigation.

This is the first time the Bureau has used a new digital token to aid in their efforts to combat criminal activity. The charging documents, filed in Boston, name Gotbit, ZM Quant, CLS Global, and their leaders and employees as the main defendants.

So far, four arrests have been made and five individuals have pleaded guilty. In addition, law enforcement has seized over $25 million worth of cryptocurrency.

According to Acting US Attorney Joshua Levy, the defendants engaged in fraudulent trading activities, artificially inflating the trading volume of various cryptocurrency tokens and then selling them off, leaving unsuspecting investors with significant losses.

Levy described this as a “pump and dump” scheme, which has long been used in traditional stock markets.