Related Federal Cases
Nevada Man Admits to Laundering Funds in $722 Million Cryptocurrency Scheme
Gordon Brad Beckstead, a 57-year-old man from Henderson, Nevada, pleaded guilty to laundering funds solicited for BitClub Network, a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that netted over $722 million.
Beckstead, a former certified public accountant (CPA), admitted to conspiring with the creator and operator of BitClub Network, Matthew Brent Goettsche, to launder funds earned through the scheme. The scheme solicited money from investors in exchange for shares of purported cryptocurrency mining pools and rewarded investors for recruiting new investors.
According to the investigation, Beckstead created and controlled various entities that were used to shield Goettsche’s association with the BitClub Network and to disguise income derived by Goettsche through his operation of the scheme. Beckstead also admitted to controlling bank accounts associated with the entities and directing transfers to and from the accounts exceeding $50 million.
The transfers were designed to conceal the source of Goettsche’s income, disguise his ownership of certain property and assets paid for with BitClub Network proceeds, and to help Goettsche evade tax reporting requirements. Beckstead also admitted to aiding at least two different tax preparers in the preparation of Goettsche’s false 2017 and 2018 federal tax returns.
Beckstead’s guilty plea carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. The tax charge to which Beckstead pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine of $100,000.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 9, 2022. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony P. Torntore and Jamie L. Hoxie of the Cybercrime Unit, and Unit Chief Sarah Devlin and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Minish of the Asset Recovery Unit.
The investigation was conducted by special agents and task force officers of the FBI Los Angeles Division’s West Covina Resident Agency, under the direction of Assistant Director in Charge Kristi K. Johnson; and special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez in Newark, who conducted this investigation under the initiative of the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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