Randy Craig Levine, Cryptocurrency Fraud, New York 2023

Randy Craig Levine, Cryptocurrency Fraud, New York 2023

A US citizen, Randy Craig Levine, a/k/a 'Viktor Lapin,' a/k/a 'Andre Santiago Santos Galindo,' a/k/a 'Alexander Martinez Lavrov,' a/k/a 'Alexander Kozlov,' a/k/a 'Hristo Danielov Marinov,' has been charged with commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering offenses in relation to a cryptocurrency scheme.

According to the charges, Levine induced others to send millions of dollars to Philip Reichenthal, a licensed attorney at the time, to fund the purchase of Bitcoin after falsely representing that he intended to sell large quantities of Bitcoin to buyers.

Reichenthal, who was purportedly acting as an escrow agent for the transactions, then sent a substantial portion of the money to Levine, before any Bitcoin was provided by Levine to investors. Neither Levine nor Reichenthal ever provided any Bitcoin or refunded the investors' money.

Levine, 18, fled the United States in or about May 19, 2005, after learning that he was under investigation for passport fraud and that his residence had been searched. On or about May 19, 2005, a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment charging Levine with passport fraud and perjury.

The charges against Levine and Reichenthal involve two fraudulent schemes. In the first fraudulent scheme, in approximately June and July 2018, Levine induced another individual, the principal of a purported cryptocurrency escrow firm, to wire to Reichenthal over $3 million of funds from an over-the-counter cryptocurrency broker to fund the purchase of Bitcoin after falsely telling the individual that Levine would sell thousands of Bitcoin, when in truth and in fact, Levine never intended to sell Bitcoin.

Reichenthal was arrested today in Homestead, Florida, and will be presented later today before United States District Judge Jacqueline Becerra in the Southern District of Florida.

Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: 'Randy Levine and Philip Reichenthal allegedly engaged in a scheme to take over $5 million in investor funds under the pretense of offering cryptocurrency for sale. In reality, when investors' funds were transferred to Reichenthal, a licensed attorney at the time, for 'escrow' at Levine's behest, the two allegedly pocketed the money. They never completed the Bitcoin transactions promised to their victim investors. Today's arrest of Philip Reichenthal ensures that he and his co-defendant, Randy Levine, will face justice for this alleged scheme.'

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney said: 'As alleged, Levine and Reichenthal operated two fraudulent schemes involving Bitcoin transactions. In both cases, investors wired money to the defendants to fund the purchase of Bitcoin. In neither case did these purchases actually take place. The money was funneled, as alleged, to overseas bank accounts controlled by Levine. While the charges brought today against Levine and Reichenthal are fairly detailed and laden with allegations of complex criminal activity, the truth is much more simple: they were con artists who finally got caught in the act.'

Levine, a U.S. citizen, is currently a fugitive, and extradition proceedings are pending. Reichenthal is currently in custody.

The charges against Levine and Reichenthal carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/international-fugitive-and-disbarred-attorney-charged-over-5-million-cryptocurrency