DOJ Seeks Forfeiture of $23 Million in Crypto After Gotbit Guilty Plea

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) disclosed on March 27 that it is pursuing civil forfeiture of approximately $23 million in digital assets following a guilty plea from Gotbit Consulting LLC and its founder, Aleksei Andriunin. The DOJ’s move follows criminal proceedings where the Boston-based federal court accepted Gotbit’s admission of manipulating trading activity on behalf of cryptocurrency clients. The firm, which operates as a market maker in the digital asset sector, allegedly engaged in schemes to fabricate trading volumes, misleading investors about liquidity and demand.

As part of its resolution with the federal government, Gotbit agreed to surrender the crypto holdings linked to these activities. In its announcement, the DOJ stated:

The government seized USDT (tether) and USDC (circle) from un-hosted cryptocurrency wallets controlled by Gotbit Consulting LLC. Tether and circle are stablecoins, meaning their value is tied to the U.S. dollar.

The government claims the assets represent proceeds of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as property involved in unlawful transactions. These allegations are currently part of a civil forfeiture complaint and have not been adjudicated.

Andriunin, a 26-year-old dual citizen of Russia and Portugal, was arrested abroad in October 2024 and extradited to the U.S. in February 2025. Prosecutors said that between 2018 and 2024, Gotbit operated a wash trading scheme, using custom-built software and multiple accounts to simulate trading activity and manipulate token prices. Tokens such as Robo Inu and Saitama, which were among Gotbit’s clients, are now under separate investigation. As part of the plea deal, Gotbit agreed to shut down all operations and forfeit the $23 million. The DOJ stated: “Pursuant to the plea agreement with Andriunin, the government will recommend a sentence of up to two years in prison.”

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。