DOJ Charges 10 Foreign Nationals Over Crypto ‘Wash Trading’ Scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges Monday against 10 individuals tied to four “market maker” firms—Gotbit, Vortex, Antier, and Contrarian—accused of manipulating digital asset prices through so-called “pump-and-dump” schemes.

Federal prosecutors allege the defendants conspired to artificially inflate trading volumes and cryptocurrency prices before selling to “unwitting investors” at inflated values. “These so-called pump-and-dump schemes caused losses to investors in the United States and elsewhere,” prosecutors said, noting that authorities have seized more than $1 million in cryptocurrency.

Three defendants, including senior executives, were extradited from Singapore and appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in Oakland, while two others have already entered guilty pleas and received sentences.

The case illustrates how U.S. authorities are extending their reach to overseas actors whose alleged activities affect American cryptocurrency markets, even when the defendants operate entirely outside the United States.

The charges stem from an FBI undercover operation that deployed a bureau-created token to expose alleged market manipulation services—the same technique used to underpin charges against 18 individuals and entities accused of market manipulation in October 2024.

In March last year, Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin reached a plea agreement with U.S. authorities in connection with market manipulation charges, forfeiting $23 million in crypto assets.

Other recent actions by the DOJ have targeted privacy tool developers and individuals who allegedly misused COVID relief funds to purchase digital assets.