An American man from Arizona and a woman from Israel have been charged with conspiracy and bank fraud. Both individuals are accused of providing “illicit financial services” to users of digital assets.
Crypto Crime is a Constantly Running Theme
Federal prosecutors are claiming that the pair worked to “conceal the true nature” of several millions of dollars that were traveling through banks they were working with across the globe. The pair being charged are named Reginald Fowler and Ravid Yosef. Both have been accused of purchasing and selling crypto funds with people from everywhere while touting the funds as “real estate proceeds” to separate banking institutions.
As Live Bitcoin News has reported time and time again, crypto crime is consistent throughout 2019. Despite the price drops of bitcoin and several other forms of crypto over the past several months (bitcoin did not even start to pick up pricewise until early April), the criminal behavior infecting the crypto space has seemingly gotten bigger.
Just yesterday, our outlet discussed a man in Israel that had been charged with stealing Dash cryptocurrency from his friend. Approximately 75,000 units were taken, which accounted for roughly $6 million to $9 million at the time of writing. The man ultimately gained access to his friend’s apartment and transferred the Dash funds to a wallet he could control. His friend had been a cryptocurrency trader since 2013, and it is unknown how he had gained access to his now former pal’s password.
Just two hours ago, we discussed a new document that emerged claiming that crypto-related crime was at an all time high and had already accounted for roughly $1.2 billion in losses for the first quarter of 2019. This is particularly upsetting considering the report mentions that the total losses for 2018 were $1.7 billion, which means we’re not too far from reaching that tally just three or four months into the new year.
How could things progress that quickly, and why isn’t more being done to stop this? Are regulations truly that weak, or are they just not being enforced?
The pair being charged allegedly failed to follow “established compliance procedures.” This included know-your-customer (KYC) tactics and other protocols designed to protect users and their funds from misappropriation and other types of fraud. Aside from charges of bank fraud and conspiracy, Fowler is facing an entirely separate charge for “operating an unlicensed money-transfer business.”
Why Are Crypto Regulations Still So Loose?
Fowler is in custody and is currently scheduled for a court hearing, while Yosef has not yet been apprehended. It is estimated that the pair abused customers all over the world in countries such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Germany and Australia. The case is being handled by prosecutors in Manhattan, New York.