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Bitcoin Bribe Scandal Rocks New York
A former credit union CEO has been found guilty of a bribery scheme in Manhattan federal court. Trevon Gross, the former Chairman and CEO of Helping Other People Excel Federal Credit Union (HOPE FCU), was convicted of taking over $150,000 in illegal bribes to take control of the credit union.
Gross was found guilty along with Yuri Lebedev, a former member of HOPE FCU’s Board of Directors and a former employee of Coin.mx, an internet-based Bitcoin exchange. The two men were charged with a bribery scheme to take over control of HOPE FCU and a fraud scheme in furtherance of the operations of Coin.mx.
According to the indictment, Lebedev helped operate Coin.mx, an unlawful internet-based Bitcoin exchange, along with Anthony Murgio, the founder of Coin.mx. The pair engaged in substantial efforts to evade detection of their unlawful Bitcoin exchange by operating through a phony front company called “Collectables Club.”
Coin.mx used the “Collectables Club” to open financial accounts in order to trick financial institutions into believing the unlawful Bitcoin exchange was simply a members-only association of individuals who discussed, bought, and sold collectible items and memorabilia. Lebedev and his co-conspirators deceived financial institutions by deliberately misidentifying and miscoding Coin.mx customers’ credit and debit card transactions, in violation of bank and credit card company rules and regulations.
Through the illegal Coin.mx scheme, Lebedev and his co-conspirators caused more than $10 million in Bitcoin-related transactions to be processed illegally through financial institutions. The pair also bribed Gross to take control of HOPE FCU, a federal credit union in New Jersey with primarily low-income members.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “As a unanimous jury found today, Yuri Lebedev and others at Coin.mx tricked banks into processing millions of dollars in transactions by hiding the true nature of their business. When the banks caught on to their scheme, Lebedev and others bribed Trevon Gross so they could have a captive credit union to process those transactions, undermining the credit union’s safety and solvency.”
The case is a major blow to the Bitcoin community, which has been plagued by scandals and crime in recent years. The guilty verdict sends a strong message that those who engage in bribery and fraud will be held accountable.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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