News & Analysis as of

Criminal Prosecution Digital Assets

Alston & Bird

DOJ Refines Illicit Finance Enforcement Approach for DeFi

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Our White Collar, Government & Internal Investigations Group reviews several Department of Justice statements that together signal how it will enforce illicit finance risks in decentralized finance (DeFi), focusing on...more

Secretariat

Navigating New Rules of the Road: How Companies Can Adapt to Revised DOJ Guidance on Criminal Prosecutions

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Since the election in November 2024, there have been many changes to DOJ’s enforcement policies. Earlier this year, now-Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division, Matthew R. Galeotti, announced at the...more

Morgan Lewis

US Department of Justice: ‘Well-Intentioned Innovators’ Will Not Be Prosecuted

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Recent statements from the US Department of Justice, the White House, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission indicate a safer environment for responsible risk-taking in digital assets and derivatives....more

Quinn Emanuel

The White Collar Appeal: Fourth Circuit Chips Away at Ciminelli, Closes Its Eyes to Cleveland

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In the United States, a nonprofit called the American Registry for Internet Numbers (“ARIN”) is responsible for the assignment of IP addresses, the unique identifiers assigned to each device that connects to the Internet....more

Latham & Watkins LLP

DOJ Official Addresses DeFi Platform Developer Liability Under Money Transmission Statute

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DOJ will focus on criminal intent over mere code creation, seeking to balance legal accountability with support for innovation....more

Polsinelli

Blockchain+ Bi-Weekly—SEC Issues Guidance Regarding Liquid Staking Tokens and Trial of Privacy Technology Developer Ends in Mixed...

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Congress may be in its August recess, but the crypto legal developments have not slowed. The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance released long-awaited guidance on Proof-of-Stake liquid staking tokens, clarifying when such...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Second Circuit Vacates Fraud Conviction in First Crypto “Insider Trading” Case

In United States v. Chastain, No. 23-7038, 2025 WL 2165839 (2d Cir. July 31, 2025), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated wire fraud and money laundering convictions in what the government...more

BakerHostetler

Weekly Blockchain Blog - August 2025 #3

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US Stablecoin Issuers Announce Bank Charter Application, New L1 Network - Paxos, a blockchain infrastructure and tokenization platform and issuer of the USDP stablecoin, recently announced that it “has filed an application...more

Benesch

Second Circuit Widens the Gap Between Wire Fraud and Intangible Interests - Confidential Business Information Without Commercial...

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The Second Circuit has narrowed the wire fraud statute (18 U.S.C. § 1343), ruling that a fraudulent scheme must target property with actual commercial value to the victim; mere confidential business information...more

Mayer Brown

The Tornado Cash Trial’s Mixed Verdict: Implications for Developer Liability

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On August 6, 2025, following a four-week trial, a jury in the Southern District of New York delivered a mixed verdict in the criminal case against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm. The jury convicted Storm of conspiring to...more

Perkins Coie

Second Circuit Narrows Scope of Federal Criminal Fraud Statute in NFT “Insider Trading” Case

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In United States v. Chastain, a split panel of the Second Circuit recently vacated the convictions of a former executive of an NFT marketplace who had been charged with misusing confidential information to trade NFTs for...more

A&O Shearman

Second Circuit Vacates Wire Fraud Conviction For “Insider Trading” On NFTs

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On July 31, 2025, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion vacating the wire fraud and money laundering convictions of a former manager of a marketplace for non-fungible...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

CFTC Enforcement Division Issues Framework for DOJ Criminal Referrals

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On July 9, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Division of Enforcement (DOE), acting pursuant to a recent executive order (EO), issued an advisory letter outlining its new policy for referring criminally...more

Freiberger Haber LLP

Enforcement News: Founder of Crypto Asset and Foreign Exchange Trading Company Charged with Orchestrating a Ponzi-Like Fraudulent...

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The allure of guaranteed profits from sophisticated crypto asset and foreign exchange trading served as the underlying predicate for the claims asserted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against Ramil Palafox...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

DOJ shifts focus on digital asset enforcement

Recently, the Deputy Attorney General for the DOJ released a memo that outlined a new policy direction for the DOJ regarding the enforcement of laws related to digital assets. The memo emphasized ending the previous...more

ArentFox Schiff

Changes in DOJ Policy on Digital Assets Enforcement

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On April 7, the Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Todd Blanche issued a memorandum entitled “Ending Regulation By Prosecution,” detailing a significant shift in the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) approach to digital assets....more

Ballard Spahr LLP

A New Era for Digital Assets: The Impact of DOJ’s Shift Away from Regulation by Prosecution and Its Implications

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In a significant policy shift, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memorandum titled “Ending Regulation By Prosecution,” on April 7, 2025, signaling a change in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) approach to digital...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

DOJ Narrows Crypto Enforcement Focus to Fraud and Criminal Conduct

On April 7, in a significant policy shift, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced via the release of a memorandum that it will no longer pursue criminal enforcement actions that effectively impose regulatory...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

U.S. Department of Justice Curtails “Regulation by Prosecution” in Digital Asset Enforcement

A new DOJ policy directs prosecutors to focus on crypto fraud and use of digital assets to facilitate other crimes. On April 7, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a Memorandum titled, “Ending Regulation by...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

First Stand-Alone Crypto Tax Fraud Case Leads to Two-Year Prison Sentence

On December 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that Frank Richard Ahlgren III was sentenced to two years in prison for filing a false tax return underreporting gains from selling $3.7 million in...more

BakerHostetler

Weekly Blockchain Blog - November 2024 #4

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Stablecoin Initiatives Announced by Fintech Companies, DeFi Protocols - Major U.S. payments firm recently announced plans to enable “disbursement partners” to use the PYUSD stablecoin to settle cross-border money...more

Allen Barron, Inc.

Is it Too Late to Correct Past FBARs and File Amended Returns with the IRS?

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Is it too late to correct past FBARs and file amended returns with the IRS? The net is closing in on U.S. taxpayers with unreported or under-reported domestic and offshore income and assets. The IRS has increased audits in...more

BakerHostetler

Weekly Blockchain Blog - November 2024 #3

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Crypto Exchanges and Stablecoin Issuers Announce Multiple New Products - Multiple crypto sector companies have recently announced new products. In a press release, LayerZero, “an omnichain interoperability protocol that...more

BakerHostetler

Weekly Blockchain Blog - November 2024

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Integrations Connect Crypto and Fiat Financial Products - This week saw the announcement of three cryptocurrency payments partnerships. In a recent press release, a major U.S. financial services company announced a...more

BakerHostetler

Weekly Blockchain Blog - October 2024

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According to a recent press release by the banking cooperative that operates the world’s foremost global payment messaging network, central and commercial banks will soon be able to use the network “to carry out trial...more

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