A former employee of the German investment bank Deutsche Bank, Rashawn Russell, admitted to involvement in a scam scheme to defraud 29 clients of the R3 crypto fund out of $1.5 million.
According to Brooklyn federal court, the defendant also admitted to stealing personal information, including bank card information and access to electronic devices with the intent to use them for unauthorized transactions.
“Russell exploited investor interest in the cryptocurrency markets to carry out a scheme to defraud clients who trusted him. The swift verdict in this case underscores the authorities’ commitment to bringing bad actors in digital asset markets to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.
According to court documents, between November 2020 and August 2022, the ex-Deutsche Bank broker deceived investors in the R3 fund by promising them profits from trading cryptocurrencies.
At the same time, Russell appropriated most of the funds and used them for gambling, paying off debts to previous investors and paying for his expenses, the court clarified.
The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. As part of his plea agreement, he is required to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution.
Previously, one of the founders of the OneCoin cryptocurrency pyramid, Carl Sebastian, received a sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $300 million. He was tried for defrauding 3.5 million investors and wasting their money on five-star resorts, villas, a private jet and a yacht.
Let us recall that in June, US authorities charged a married couple from Tennessee with organizing a fraudulent $6 million crypto investment scheme called “God’s Blessing through Cryptocurrency.”
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