2 years ago
A Latvian nationalist has been handed implicit to the United States wherever helium is accused of fraud done respective companies offering mendacious crypto concern opportunities. Ivars Auzins volition look successful a national tribunal successful Brooklyn to look aggregate charges of ligament and securities fraud.
Latvian Authorities Transfer Alleged Crypto Fraudster to US Custody
Ivars Auzins, a national of the tiny Baltic federation of Latvia, was extradited to the United States connected Friday. The Latvian has been handed implicit to the American judiciary connected a six-count indictment charging him with ligament fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracies to perpetrate ligament and securities fraud successful transportation with the cognition of 8 businesses that purported to offer, put in, oregon excavation integer assets.
Auzins volition beryllium arraigned connected the indictment connected Saturday successful a national tribunal successful Brooklyn earlier the Honorable Roanne L. Mann., the U.S. Department of Justice said successful a property release. The charges were announced by United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace and Michael J. Driscoll, adjunct director-in-charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI:
Auzins perpetrated a brazen strategy successful which helium fleeced investors who funneled millions of dollars into fraudulent cryptocurrency. This Office volition proceed to vigorously analyse and prosecute those who prevarication and bargain from investors, including those similar the suspect who run from abroad.
According to the indictment, the Latvian allegedly ran respective companies, the “Auzins Entities,” which advertised done email campaigns, societal media, and websites dedicated to cryptocurrencies. They suggested invaluable concern opportunities and solicited investments earlier abruptly disappearing.
Two of these, Denaro and Bitroad, raised funds done archetypal coin offerings (ICOs). Impressio Estate, Broi Investments (Bankroi), Changepro, Gemneon Investments, and Lycovest presented themselves arsenic crypto concern platforms providing antithetic concern plans and nett rates. Innovamine offered investments successful mining a fig of coins, including bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).
Auzins and his co-conspirators allegedly enticed investors to enactment wealth into their projects done a bid of worldly misrepresentations and omissions astir the offered products and services, the profits that investors would gain by investing successful the Auzins Entities, and the individuals who operated them.
Between astir November 2017 and July 2019, individuals successful the United States and different jurisdictions transferred astatine slightest $7 cardinal successful integer assets to Auzins’s companies. Shortly aft receiving these investments, these entities disappeared without providing their promised services, the DOJ pointed out.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Latvian instrumentality enforcement agencies to unafraid the apprehension and extradition of Ivars Auzins to the United States, and the U.S. Marshals Service carried retired the extradition, the announcement details. The New York Regional Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission assisted the investigation.
Auzins’s transportation to the U.S. comes aft the caller extraditions of 2 Russian nationals accused by American authorities of crypto-related crime. Last week, the Netherlands transferred 29-year-old Denis Dubnikov, who is accused of laundering proceeds of ransomware attacks connected individuals and organizations successful the United States, including hospitals and healthcare providers. Earlier this month, Greece extradited 42-year-old Alexander Vinnik, alleged relation of BTC-e, who allegedly laundered astatine slightest $4 cardinal done the now-defunct integer plus exchange.
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