The U.S. Department of Justice has charged four crypto market makers involved in "wash trading" market manipulation, with up to 20 years in prison for the ten individuals involved.

ME News update: On April 1 (UTC+8), the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California announced that a federal grand jury has filed criminal charges against 10 executives and employees related to crypto market makers Gotbit, Vortex, Antier, and Contrarian. The charges allege that they manipulated the prices and trading volumes of crypto assets through “wash trading” (fake trades), inducing investors to buy at artificially inflated price levels. Enforcement information shows that the case was revealed by a covert operation targeting manipulation in the crypto industry jointly conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and that more than $1 million in crypto assets have already been seized. Two CEOs and one executive from two of the three companies have been extradited from Singapore to the United States and made their first court appearance at the federal court in Oakland, California. In addition, two defendants have previously pleaded guilty and been sentenced. According to the allegations, the individuals involved could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250k fine. (Source: ODAILY)