The Daily Close

The bank revealed last Wednesday it would have to delay filing its annual 10-K report due to questions from its auditors.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the guilty pleas of PABLO RENATO RODRIGUEZ, GUTEMBERG DOS SANTOS, SCOTT HUGHES, CECILIA MILLAN, KARINA CHAIREZ, and JACKIE AGUILAR for their roles in an internationally coordinated fraud and money laundering ring that deceived individuals into investing in AirBit Club, a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company.  AirBit Club co-founder DOS SANTOS pled guilty before United States District Judge George B. Daniels on October 21, 2021.  Senior AirBit Club promoters CHAIREZ, MILLAN, and AGUILAR pled guilty before Judge Daniels on January 31, February 8, and February 22, 2023, respectively, and are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Daniels on June 28, July 25, and June 27, 2023, respectively.  SCOTT HUGHES, an attorney who laundered Airbit Club fraud proceeds for RODRIGUEZ and DOS SANTOS, pled guilty before Judge Daniels on March 2, 2023, and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 9, 2023.  Airbit Club co-founder RODRIGUEZ pled guilty before Judge Daniels earlier today and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25, 2023.  As part of their guilty pleas, the defendants collectively have been ordered to forfeit their fraudulent proceeds of Airbit Club, which include seized or restrained assets consisting of U.S. currency, Bitcoin, and real estate currently valued at approximately $100 million.

Crypto exchanges should be required to separate their custody and trading businesses.