A list of cases where crypto or payments went really bad, by Adam Atlas Attorney at Law
2019
- State Street Bank and Trust Co. violation of OFAC SDN screening rules, May 29, 2019.
- Tether and Bitfinex investigated for fraud by NYDFS, April 24, 2019 (See comments on stablecoin here).
- Selling Bitcoin on exchanges for other people is MSB activity, FInCEN Re Erioc Powers, April 18, 2019.Selling Bitcoin under Federal law, two early 2019 conflicting cases:
- Simply selling Bitcoin IS Federal MSB activity US v. Stetkiw USDC February 1, 2019.
- Simply selling Bitcoin is NOT Federal MSB activity, Forida v. Espeinoza, FLCA, January 30, 2019
- Coinflux CEO to be extradited from Romania to US on money laundering and other charges, January 5, 2019.
2018
- OCC City National Bank of New Jersey Consent Order Re Compliance November 1, 2018.
- This second order talks about not taking on any new MSBs as clients.Bitcoin Exchange not Registered with FinCEN, guilty, USDOJ, October 28, 2018.
- Payza Obopay NYDFS Cease and Desist, October 24, 2018.Ukyo.Loan / BitFunder / WeExchange securities fraud DOJ, July 23, 2018.
- Payza and Two Canadian Brothers Accused of Operating an Unlicensed Money Service Business and Money Laundering, March 21, 2018.
- Western Union fined $60 million by NYDFS for money laundering rule violations, January 4, 2018.
- Consent order text.Woman jailed for buying and selling Bitcoin in Southern California, June 11, 2018.
2017
- Munchee, Inc. ICO MUN deemed investment contract by SEC, December 11, 2017
- SEC concludes DOA ICO Tokens are securities, July 25, 2017. See FinCEN Notice.
- BTC-e, Russian Bitcoin Exchange shut down for money laundering, July 26, 2017.
- AlphaBay, largest online 'Dark Market' shut down by US DOJ, July 20, 2017.
- Coin.mx principal gets 5 years in jail for illegal unlicensed MSB, June 28, 2017.
- FinCEN and SDNY settle claim against MoneyGram Chief Compliance officer for $250,000, May 4, 2017. This is an important case because it sets a new precent in the personal liability of CCOs.
- Merchants Bank of California, N.A. assessment of civil money penalty by FinCEN for $7,000,000, February 16, 2017.
2016
- Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. fined $100 million by CFPB for opening 1,500,000 bank accounts that may not have been authorized and other infractions.
- Liberty Reserve founder, Arthur Budovsky, sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegal money laundering, May 6, 2016.
- Gibraltar Private Bank fined $4 million by FinCEN for intentional AML BSA violations, Feb 2016.
- Transferwise could not rely on authorized delegate status in New Hampshire, February 22, 2016.
2015
- Bill.com Consent Order in Pennsylvania for transmitting without a license, June 2015
- Ripple Labs / XRP II, LLC fined $700,000 by FinCEN for violating BSA, May 2015
- The Bancorp Bank FDIC Consent Order Re Third Party Programs, December 2015
- NYDFS bans Promontory Financial Group,LLC from access to key reports, August 2015
- US DOJ Speech on Prosecution of Bitcoin and Other Virtual Currency Cases, June 26, 2015
- Discover FDIC Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Consent Order, May 2015
- No criminal charges for Ripple Labs in BSA compliance case, May 5, 2015
- Ripple Labs Inc. faces civil enforcement $700,00 penalty from FinCEN, May 5, 2015
- Paypal settles for $7 million with U.S. Department of the Treasury for OFAC violations.
2014
- FinCEN $1M Personal Liability for CCO of MoneyGram, December 2014
- BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem Arrested for Alleged Money Laundering. The case was settled with a guilty plea.
- Bill.com transmitting money in Texas without a license, consent order.
2013
- ToucPay Consent Order in New Hampshire for transmitting without a license, July 2013
- SilkRoad, the largely Bitcoin-based marketplace used largely for illegal products has its site and assets, including Bitoin, seized by U.S. Federal authorities, as reported in the New York Times.Square fined $500,000 by Florida for operating without a money transmitter license.Bitcion Foundation: June 23, 2013:
- California’s Department of Financial Institutions ceases and desist.(Sources Business Insider and New York Times)
- These domains were seized as part of the crackdown on the criminal bazaar at SilkRoad (via Tor)