Jailed crypto fraudster will pay $1.5m in restitution per CFTC

Former Deutsche Bank investment banker and registered broker Rashawn Russell has been ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to victims of a digital asset trading scheme. Russell has already been sentenced to 41 months in prison for fraud and other offenses. 

The broker solicited Bitcoin, Ether and fiat currency from at least 29 retail investors in his proprietary R3 Crypto Fund between November 2020 and August 2022. He forged documents and banking information to carry out his fraudulent actions.

He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud

Russell promised and sometimes even guaranteed returns on the investments of 25% or more, but used the funds for personal benefits and to repay other investors Ponzi-style. In addition to the R3-related fraud, he was charged with credit card fraud and identity theft. He faced a maximum sentence of 30 years.

Russell pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud in the United States Eastern New York District Court in September 2023 and was sentenced to 41 months in prison in May. 

The case against Russell was brought by the U.S. Justice Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in parallel actions. The $1.5 million restitution payment was imposed at the time of his sentencing, but the order for the payment was issued on Feb. 10.

The CFTC is changing its ways but still after fraud

The CFTC is headed by member Caroline Pham, who was appointed acting chair of the agency on Jan. 20. She replaced Rostin Behnam. Under Pham, the agency has announced a restructuring of its enforcement division into two task forces called the Complex Fraud Task Force and the Retail Fraud and General Enforcement Task Force. 

The new, streamlined enforcement structure is expected to prevent agency overreach and contribute to greater consistency. In addition, Pham appointed Harry Jung to be acting chief of staff and to “lead the CFTC’s engagement on crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi), and other digital assets.”

The CFTC collected $17.1 billion from crypto-related enforcement activities in 2024, with $2.6 billion being penalties and $14.5 billion being disgorgement. Although its enforcement capabilities are quite limited compared to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the CFTC has been involved in some of the biggest crypto cases in the United States.

For example, the CFTC settled with FTX and Alameda Research for $12.7 billion. It fined Binance $1.35 billion and got an equal amount from the exchange in disgorgement.

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