Extradited to the US from Latvia for wire fraud
An American court has ordered the extradition of a Latvian national who is accused of defrauding various businesses that offered fraudulent cryptocurrency investment opportunities. Ivars Auzins will show up in court in Brooklyn to answer to numerous allegations of securities and wire fraud.
Alleged crypto fraudster is transferred to US
custody by Latvian authorities.
Ivars Auzins, a resident of Latvia, a tiny country in the Baltics, was extradited to the US on Friday. A six-count indictment accusing the Latvian of wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracies to commit wire and securities fraud in connection with the operation of eight businesses that claimed to provide, invest in, or mine digital assets has led to the Latvian's transfer to the American judicial system.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Auzins will be arraigned on the charges contained in the indictment on Saturday in federal court in Brooklyn before the Honorable Roanne L. Mann.
The Latvian was accused of running various businesses known as the "Auzins Entities," which marketed via email campaigns, social media, and cryptocurrency-specific websites. Before abruptly leaving, they offered great financial prospects and requested investments. Denaro and Bitroad were two of those that used ICOs to raise money (ICOs). Among the platforms offering various investment plans and return percentages were Impressio Estate, Broi Investments (Bankroi), Changepro, Gemneon Investments, and Lycovest. Bitcoin (BTC) and ether were two of the coins that Innovamine offered investment opportunities in the mining of (ETH).
By making a number of materially false statements and omissions regarding the goods and services that were being offered, the returns that investors would receive from investing in the Auzins Entities, and the people in charge of them, Auzins and his co-conspirators are alleged to have persuaded investors to fund their projects. Individuals from the US and other countries transferred at least $7 million in digital assets to Auzins's enterprises between around November 2017 and July 2019. The DOJ noted that soon after receiving these investments, these organisations vanished without rendering the promised services.
Ivars Auzins was apprehended and extradited to the United States by the U.S. Marshals Service after collaboration between the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs and Latvian law enforcement, according to the announcement. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's New York Regional Office provided assistance with the inquiry.
Following the recent extraditions of two Russian citizens charged by American authorities of crypto-related crime, Auzins was sent to the United States. Denis Dubnikov, 29, who is suspected of laundering the proceeds of ransomware attacks on people and organisations in the United States, including hospitals and healthcare providers, was transported from the Netherlands last week. Alexander Vinnik, 42, the purported owner of BTC-e, who is accused of laundering at least $4 billion through the now-defunct digital asset exchange, was extradited to Greece earlier this month.
