Recent events highlight the rise of crypto-related crimes, including major court crackdowns on fraudsters and regulatory responses.
Case of Fraudster Ho Kai Xin
A Singapore court sentenced Ho Kai Xin to nearly ten years in prison for defrauding $5.7 million from the crypto exchange Bybit. Ho, working at WeChain, manipulated payroll data to divert funds into her crypto wallets. Her fraudulent activities started in May 2022 and continued until February 2023. The court heard that she amended payroll records using Microsoft Excel to falsely increase payments, and then funneled approximately $4.2 million into her personal accounts to finance a lavish lifestyle. Authorities managed to recover more than $1.1 million in Tether (USDT) and $140,000 from her bank accounts, as well as seized assets worth $330,000.
SafeMoon CTO Pleads Guilty
The CTO of SafeMoon LLC, Thomas Smith, pleaded guilty to securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. The US prosecutors alleged his involvement in a multimillion-dollar crypto scheme. The case involved SafeMoon's liquidity pool, which was falsely claimed to be locked, allowing Smith and others to siphon over $200 million for personal use, resulting in arrests.
SEC Launches New Crypto Fraud Unit
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a new division dedicated to combating fraud in the crypto and emerging technologies sectors. This unit will replace the previous one and will focus on protecting retail investors from bad actors within blockchain environments.
Incidents of crypto fraud continue to draw public and regulatory attention, highlighting the need for stricter enforcement and compliance in the cryptocurrency sector.
