DOJ Charges 10 Crypto Executives for Wash Trading and Price Manipulation

TLDR

• The U.S. DOJ charged 10 executives and employees from four crypto market-making firms on March 30
• The firms — Gotbit, Vortex, Antier, and Contrarian — are accused of wash trading to inflate token prices and volumes
• The FBI created a fake token called NexFundAI as part of an undercover sting called Operation Token Mirrors
• Three defendants were extradited from Singapore; two others already pleaded guilty and were sentenced
• Over $1 million in cryptocurrency has been seized so far

The U.S. Department of Justice charged 10 people on March 30 connected to four cryptocurrency market-making firms accused of artificially inflating digital asset prices and trading volumes.

The defendants include employees and executives from Gotbit, Vortex, Antier, and Contrarian. Prosecutors say these firms used coordinated trading to create a false appearance of market demand.

According to court filings, the alleged scheme involved buying and selling the same tokens repeatedly — a practice known as wash trading — to drive up reported volumes and prices.

Once prices were inflated, prosecutors allege the firms sold those tokens to everyday investors who had no knowledge of the manipulation.

The investigation was run under a program called Operation Token Mirrors. As part of the operation, FBI agents created a cryptocurrency called NexFundAI.

Agents used the fake token to approach market-making firms and document how wash trading services were offered and carried out.

The case moved through indictments issued between March and September 2025. Arrests followed in Singapore before three senior defendants were extradited to the United States.

International Arrests and Guilty Pleas

Those three defendants appeared in federal court in Oakland, California after being brought over from Singapore.

Two other defendants had already pleaded guilty before the extraditions took place. They were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín.

The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation Division jointly conducted the undercover operation. Both agencies have been increasing their focus on crypto fraud cases in recent years.

Prosecutors said the pump-and-dump schemes caused investor losses both inside and outside the United States.

Assets Seized and Investor Losses

Court filings confirm that more than $1 million in cryptocurrency has been seized as part of the investigation to date.

The DOJ did not specify the total investor losses in its public statements.

The case represents one of the more detailed undercover operations targeting crypto market manipulation, with the FBI going as far as launching its own token to gather evidence.

Three extradited defendants remain in U.S. custody and are expected to face trial in federal court in Oakland.

The post DOJ Charges 10 Crypto Executives for Wash Trading and Price Manipulation appeared first on CoinCentral.