The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted five people for alleged market manipulation of the Ethereum-based cryptocurrency Hydro.
The indictment, just released by the DOJ, accused five people of conspiring to manipulate the market in relation to the ERC-20 Hydro token. April 24Three people were charged with manipulating the market, while the other two were charged separately for their roles in the conspiracy.
They Can Get 5 to 20 Years in Prison
DOJ, June 2018 to April 2019 Hydrogen Technology Corp. acting as CEO Michael Ross Kane, head of financial engineering at Hydrogen Shane HamptonAnd George Wolvaardtallegedly scammed market participants who wanted to trade Hyrdro tokens.
According to the indictment, Wolvaardt, chief technology officer at market maker firm Moonwalkers Trading Limited, designed a trading bot that executes a series of high-value fake orders at indefinite intervals to make it look like there is high demand for the token. The bot traded large amounts of tokens simultaneously through a single account.
The DOJ alleges that after Hydro’s price was artificially manipulated, its accomplices made an ill-gotten gain of approximately $2 million by selling most of their holdings.
Additionally, the former CEO of Moonwalkers Tyler Osternand a blockchain engineer from Hydrogen Technology Corp. Andrew Chorlianwere also charged with involvement in the alleged manipulation plot.
Kane, Hampton, and Wolvaardt are each charged once with securities price manipulation, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and bank fraud twice. If found guilty of all charges, a maximum of five years in prison each on the securities price manipulation charge and for each of the other charges. 20 yearsthey will face jail time.
April 20‘in New York District Courtjudge, ruling against Michael Ross Kane in a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission $2.8 millionordered him to pay compensation.
