The US Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) criminal investigation unit has chosen ten high-profile crypto-related cases as some of its most important to look into in 2023.
These cases feature a range of crimes, such as the Silk Road market, OneCoin, “Bruno Block,” the founder of the Oyster Protocol, and a Bitcoin kiosk-based money laundering scheme.
The IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) has unveiled its top 10 cases for calendar year 2023, spotlighting the agency’s most significant and high-profile investigations. These cases involve a wide range of financial crimes, including fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and cryptocurrency-related offenses. CI Chief Jim Lee emphasized the immense impact of these cases, which span billions of dollars in fraud, victimizing individuals globally.
1. LA businessman, Utah fuel plant operators sentenced for billion-dollar biofuel tax fraud scheme: In one of the largest fraud schemes in U.S. history, five individuals were sentenced for a billion-dollar biofuel tax conspiracy. Lev Aslan Dermen received a 40-year sentence, with others receiving sentences ranging from six to 40 years. The scheme involved fraudulent claims for renewable fuel tax credits and money laundering.
2. Former CFO of Russian natural gas company sentenced for tax crimes: Mark Anthony Gyetvay, former CFO of Novatek, a Russian Gas Company, was sentenced to 86 months for tax crimes, concealing offshore assets, making false statements, and willfully failing to file tax returns.
3. Co-founder of multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency scheme OneCoin sentenced: Karl Sebastian Greenwood, co-founder of OneCoin, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the massive OneCoin fraud scheme, defrauding millions of victims who invested over $4 billion in the fraudulent cryptocurrency.
4. New Hampshire man sentenced for operating a bitcoin money laundering scheme: Ian Freeman received a 96-month prison sentence for operating a bitcoin money laundering scheme, exchanging over $10 million in proceeds from romance scams and internet fraud. Freeman’s failure to register his business and his facilitation of fraudsters led to significant charges.
5. Leader of illegal copyright infringement scheme sentenced: Bill Omar Carrasquillo, known as Omi in a Hellcat, received a 66-month prison sentence for crimes related to a widespread copyright infringement scheme involving cable TV piracy, access device fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and extensive copyright infringement.
6. Massachusetts father, sons sentenced for lottery, tax fraud scheme: Ali Jaafar and his sons, Yousef and Mohamed Jaafar, were sentenced for a decade-long lottery fraud scheme, laundering over $20 million and causing federal tax losses exceeding $6 million. The defendants purchased winning lottery tickets at a discount, claimed prizes, and unlawfully obtained funds.
7. Silk Road dark web fraud defendant sentenced: James Zhong was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for wire fraud in connection with unlawfully obtaining approximately 50,000 bitcoins from the Silk Road dark web marketplace in 2012. The seized cryptocurrency, valued at over $3.4 billion, was forfeited along with other assets.
8. Cryptocurrency founder ‘Bruno Block’ sentenced to 4 years: Amir Bruno Elmaani, founder of Oyster Pearl cryptocurrency, received a 48-month prison sentence for tax offenses related to the Pearl token. Elmaani failed to file a tax return while spending millions on yachts, properties, and other luxury items, resulting in a tax loss of approximately $5.5 million.
9. LA man sentenced to over 24 years for $5.5 million COVID and tax fraud: Edward Kim was sentenced to 292 months for fraudulently obtaining nearly $5.5 million in COVID-related jobless benefits, trafficking drugs, and attempting to fraudulently obtain over $356,400 in tax refunds. Kim and co-conspirators submitted 459 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims and conspired to file 297 tax returns seeking fraudulent Economic Impact Payments.
10. French man sentenced for international tax scheme: Ayodele Arasokun received a 34-year prison sentence for orchestrating an international tax scheme involving wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Arasokun filed 1,701 false tax returns, claiming $9.1 million in refunds. The investigation revealed his management of over 700 U.S.-based accounts containing more than $50 million.
The IRS’s criminal investigation unit released its annual report on December 4. In it, they said they started more than 2,676 cases covering more than $37 billion in tax and financial crimes during the fiscal year of 2023. The government has taken back more than $10 billion in cryptocurrency since 2015.
#2023Top10
— IRS Criminal Investigation (@IRS_CI) December 12, 2023
0️⃣8️⃣ Our Washington, D.C. team and partners uncovered the scheme of "Bruno Block," founder of cryptocoin "Oyster Pearl," who secretly minted and sold Pearl tokens for his own gain. ➡️ https://t.co/OItucmAcP3 pic.twitter.com/sxGuf9S9YE
The IRS’s thorough work and good outcomes in these investigations show how serious they are about fighting crypto-related crimes and making sure people follow tax and financial rules.
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