U.S. Justice Department Charges 10 Tied to Four Crypto Market-Making Firms Over Alleged Wash Trading

April 1 — The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said ten executives and employees linked to four crypto market-making firms—Gotbit, Vortex, Antier and Contrarian—have been charged for allegedly using wash trading to inflate token trading volumes and prices. Authorities said three defendants have been extradited from Singapore to the United States. Two others have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced. As part of an undercover probe into illegal volume manipulation and pump-and-dump schemes, the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division created multiple crypto tokens. Officials said more than $1 million in crypto assets has since been seized.