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Latvian extradited to US for wire fraud involving crypto investments – Bitcoin News
A Latvian national has been extradited to the United States where he is accused of fraud through several companies offering fake crypto investment opportunities. Ivars Auzins will appear in federal court in Brooklyn to face multiple wire and securities fraud charges.
Latvian authorities reportedly transfer crypto fraudsters to US custody
Ivars Auzins, a citizen of the small Baltic nation of Latvia, was extradited to the United States on Friday. The Latvian has been handed over to US authorities on a six-count indictment charging him with wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud in connection with the operation of eight businesses purporting to offer, invest in or mine digital assets.
Auzins will be arraigned on the charges on Saturday in federal court in Brooklyn before the Honorable Roanne L. Mann, the US Department of Justice said in a news release. The charges were announced by United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director of the New York Field Office of the FBI:
Auzins pulled off a brazen scheme fleeing investors who funneled millions of dollars into fake cryptocurrency. This office will continue to investigate and prosecute those who lie and steal from investors, including those defendants who operate from overseas.
According to the indictment, the Latvian allegedly operated several companies, “Auzins Entities”, which advertised through email campaigns, social media and websites dedicated to cryptocurrencies. They proposed valuable investment opportunities and solicited investment before suddenly disappearing.
Two of these, Denaro and Bitroad, raised money through initial coin offerings (ICOs). Impressio Estate, Broi Investments (Bankroi), Changepro, Gemneon Investments and Lycovest presented themselves as crypto investment platforms with different investment plans and profit rates. Innovamine offered investments in the mining of a variety of coins, including bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).
Auzins and his co-conspirators allegedly enticed investors to put money into their projects through a series of material misrepresentations and omissions about the products and services offered, the profits that investors would earn by investing in Auzins Entities, and the people who operated them.
Between approximately November 2017 and July 2019, individuals in the United States and other jurisdictions transferred at least $7 million in digital assets to Auzins’ companies. Shortly after receiving these investments, these entities disappeared without providing their promised services, the DOJ pointed out.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Latvian law enforcement agencies to secure the arrest and extradition of Ivars Auzins to the United States, and the US Marshals Service executed the extradition, the announcement said. The New York Regional Office of the US Securities and Exchange Commission assisted the investigation.
Auzin’s transfer to the US comes after the recent extraditions of two Russian nationals accused by US authorities of crypto-related crimes. Last week, the Netherlands extradited 29-year-old Denis Dubnikov, who is accused of laundering the proceeds of ransom attacks on individuals and organizations in the United States, including hospitals and healthcare workers. Earlier this month, Greece extradited 42-year-old Alexander Vinnik, the alleged operator of BTC-e, who allegedly laundered at least $4 billion through the now-defunct digital asset exchange.
Do you expect more extraditions to the US of people suspected of crypto-related crime? Tell us in the comments section below.
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