The Biggest Upcoming Crypto Lawsuits: Who Will Be Prosecuted for What in 2024?

Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in prison last week, capping the cryptocurrency trial of the century. However, there is still a lot of action in US courts pertaining to cryptocurrencies.

The Biggest Upcoming Crypto Lawsuits: Who Will Be Prosecuted for What in 2024?

As is well known, eyes have been on the Sam Bankman-Fried case for a very long time. For this reason, other major cases have not been ignored, but perhaps have not attracted enough attention. However, now that the young crypto king has received a 25-year sentence, we can focus on the charges that other crypto executives face.

Changpeng Zhao – Binance

The former CEO of Binance, Zhao, admitted to money laundering last year in connection with Binance.US and Binance’s $4.3 billion settlement with the United States. The allegations included running an unlicensed exchange and having a weak anti-money laundering policy. He will be sentenced on April 30 in a Seattle federal court, and the maximum term of 10 years is what the prosecution has indicated they could argue for. He faces up to 18 months in prison.

Zhao is stranded in the United States due to his bond conditions; he has repeatedly begged the court to allow him to return home to his family in the United Arab Emirates, but the government is concerned he won’t return.

Other Offenders in the FTX Case

Nishad Singh, the engineering lead, and Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research and co-founder of FTX Zixiao “Gary” Wang, will be jailed in New York for their roles in the vast fraud committed at the exchange. Wang, Singh, and Ellison each face a maximum sentence of 50, 75, and 110 years in prison; however, as they strike arrangements to admit guilt and provide evidence against their former boss in exchange for less punishment, their prison terms might not be as severe as his.

Do Kwon – Terraform Labs

The U.S. charged Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform, with numerous counts of fraud and market manipulation in March of last year after his cryptocurrency ecosystem linked to an algorithm-backed stablecoin proved to be unstable.

Kwon’s homeland, South Korea, and the United States are at odds over his extradition from Montenegro. Kwon’s plea to halt his extradition to the United States was successful.

Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg – Mango Markets

April 8 will mark the start of Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg‘s trial for charges of wire fraud, commodities fraud, and manipulation. Eisenberg is the $117 million alleged exploiter of the DeFi protocol at Mango Markets, claiming it was just a highly profitable trading method. According to Eisenberg, everything he did on the Mango Markets smart contract was acceptable and lawful.

Roman Storm & Roman Semenov – Tornado Cash

The trial for crypto mixer Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm is scheduled for September. He faces allegations of operating an unregistered money-transferring business, conspiring to conduct money laundering, and breaking the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. Storm has entered a not-guilty plea and requested the charges be dropped, arguing that there was little he could do to prevent entities sanctioned by the United States from utilizing the tool. Roman Semenov, his co-developer, is thought to be in Russia but is currently at large.

Alex Mashinsky – Celsius

Alex Mashinsky, the creator of the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius, will go on trial on September 17 for seven counts of fraud and market manipulation, with a maximum penalty of 115 years. He entered a not-guilty plea, requested the dismissal of two charges, and requested that the case not contain any information regarding Celsius’ bankruptcy.

Braden John Karony – SafeMoon

In November, SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony was charged by US prosecutors with securities, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy, each of which carries a possible 45-year prison sentence. He is free on bond, entered a not-guilty plea, and has had difficulty affording legal representation. Along with Karony, the chief technology officer, Thomas Smith, and founder of SafeMoon, Kyle Nagy, were also charged.

Chun “Michael” Gan & Ke “Eric” Tang – KuCoin

Chun “Michael” Gan and Ke “Eric” Tang, the founders of the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, were accused by the United States last month of running an unregistered money transmission business and neglecting to maintain an anti-money laundering program. Although both Chinese nationals, Gan and Tang, are at large, they each face a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.