Philip Reichenthal, $5 Million Cryptocurrency Fraud, New York 2020

A disbarred attorney has been brought to justice after pleading guilty to a $5 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme. Philip Reichenthal, 78, of Homestead, Florida, was arrested on September 14, 2020, and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in Manhattan federal court.

According to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, Reichenthal was entrusted to keep investors’ money safe, but instead, he betrayed that trust by siphoning millions of dollars of investor money.

The charges against Reichenthal and his co-conspirator, Randy Craig Levine, alias ‘Viktor Lapin,’ involve two fraudulent schemes. In the first scheme, Levine induced an individual to wire $3 million to Reichenthal, who then wired $2 million to bank accounts in Guatemala held in the name of one of Levine’s aliases.

In the second scheme, Levine induced a Florida resident to cause investors to send $2 million to Reichenthal, who then sent $1.9 million to bank accounts in Mexico controlled by Levine. The money was then wired to a bank account in Russia held in the name of one of Levine’s aliases.

Reichenthal used bank accounts held in the name of his law firm and an attorney trust account to receive the funds and pass them to Levine, before he or investors received the Bitcoin, contrary to Reichenthal’s and Levine’s promises.

Reichenthal faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison for his crime. The case is a reminder of the importance of regulating the cryptocurrency market and holding individuals accountable for their actions.

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