Two US men sentenced for orchestrating multi-million dollar crypto fraud scheme

BlockBeats news, on June 26, according to the announcement of the U.S. Department of Justice, two men were sentenced for manipulating securities prices and planning a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme. Shane Hampton, a 32-year-old Philadelphia man, was sentenced to two years and eleven months in prison. His accomplice, Michael Kane, a 39-year-old Miami man, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.

Kane, Hampton and their accomplices conducted approximately $7 million in "wash trading" through bots and more than $300 million in HYDRO "spoof trading". These manipulative transactions were designed to induce retail investors to buy HYDRO. Using manipulation to artificially raise prices, the above-mentioned people made a profit of approximately $2 million by selling HYDRO in about 10 months.

Two other accomplices, Andrew Chorlian and Tyler Ostern, pleaded guilty in May 2023 to one count of conspiracy to manipulate securities prices and wire fraud, both of whom had previously been sentenced.