2023-04-25 13:07:40
Five people have been charged with “conspiring to manipulate the market” in connection with an alleged scam involving the ERC-20 Hydro (HYDRO) token in a recent move by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to root out fraudulent actors. in the cryptocurrency market.
According to a statement issued on April 24 by the US Department of Justice, three people were charged in the complaint with conspiring to manipulate the cryptocurrency market Hydro. Separate charges were filed against two other individuals for their involvement in the alleged scam.
Five Individuals Charged in $2M Virtual Asset and Securities Manipulation Scheme
— Criminal Division (@DOJCrimDiv) April 24, 2023
The DOJ asserts that from June 2018 through April 2019, Michael Ross Kane, the former CEO of Hydrogen Technology Corp., George Wolvaardt, and Shane Hampton, misled market participants seeking to trade Hydro tokens issued by the Hydrogen company.
For his alleged involvement in the alleged manipulation scheme, Tyler Ostern, the former CEO of Moonwalkers, and Andrew Chorlian, a blockchain engineer at Hydrogen Technology Corp, were also charged..
In addition to two counts of wire fraud, Kane, Hampton and Wolvaardt each face one count of conspiracy to manipulate the price of tokens.
DEFENDANTS OBTAINED $2 MILLION FROM ALLEGED SCHEME: DOJ
According to the DOJ, Defendants allegedly conspired to manipulate HYDRO’s market and defraud market participants by creating the false appearance of HYDRO’s supply and demand to induce other market participants to trade at prices, quantities and times that they otherwise would not have traded.
Besides, the defendants are alleged to have used a trading bot to place thousands of “false orders” or orders they did not intend to carry outas well as thousands of orders where the bot bought and sold tokens to itself using the same account.
“The co-conspirators allegedly made a $2 million profit through their sales of Hydro at artificially inflated prices,” the Justice Department stated.
If they are found guilty, each defendant could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy to manipulate the price of “securities” and twenty years for each additional count.
Meanwhile, others could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit “securities” price manipulation and wire fraud.
This latest DOJ action highlights the importance of protecting investors and maintaining the integrity of the evolving cryptocurrency markets.
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