By cryptoadmin Pretend buying and selling bots, manipulated token costs, and $23 million in seized crypto underscore a sweeping DOJ crackdown on fraud and misleading digital market practices.
DOJ Targets Gotbit in $23M Crypto Market Manipulation Crackdown
The U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) disclosed on March 27 that it’s pursuing civil forfeiture of roughly $23 million in digital belongings following a responsible plea from Gotbit Consulting LLC and its founder, Aleksei Andriunin. The DOJ’s transfer follows felony proceedings the place the Boston-based federal court docket accepted Gotbit’s admission of manipulating buying and selling exercise on behalf of cryptocurrency shoppers. The agency, which operates as a market maker within the digital asset sector, allegedly engaged in schemes to manufacture buying and selling volumes, deceptive traders about liquidity and demand.
As a part of its decision with the federal authorities, Gotbit agreed to give up the crypto holdings linked to those actions. In its announcement, the DOJ acknowledged:
The federal government seized USDT (tether) and USDC (circle) from un-hosted cryptocurrency wallets managed by Gotbit Consulting LLC. Tether and circle are stablecoins, which means their worth is tied to the U.S. greenback.
The federal government claims the belongings characterize proceeds of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in addition to property concerned in illegal transactions. These allegations are at the moment a part of a civil forfeiture grievance and haven’t been adjudicated.
Andriunin, a 26-year-old twin citizen of Russia and Portugal, was arrested overseas in October 2024 and extradited to the U.S. in February 2025. Prosecutors mentioned that between 2018 and 2024, Gotbit operated a wash buying and selling scheme, utilizing custom-built software program and a number of accounts to simulate buying and selling exercise and manipulate token costs. Tokens similar to Robo Inu and Saitama, which have been amongst Gotbit’s shoppers, are actually below separate investigation. As a part of the plea deal, Gotbit agreed to close down all operations and forfeit the $23 million. The DOJ acknowledged: “Pursuant to the plea settlement with Andriunin, the federal government will advocate a sentence of as much as two years in jail.”