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Fraud

Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering and Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice in Sophisticated Cryptocurrency Scheme

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

An Arizona man, Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr., has pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to obstruct justice for his role in a scheme to defraud investors out of more than $13 million in a cryptocurrency investment scam. The scheme, which involved the use of automated trading robots powered by artificial intelligence, targeted investors who were promised high-yield profits. To further victimize those who had entrusted them with their money, the defendants created a fictitious government entity called the Federal Crypto Reserve (FCR) and solicited thousands of dollars to "investigate" cryptocurrency investment firms that had disappeared with the victims' investments.

Key Takeaways:

  • Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr., 54, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice for his role in a scheme to defraud investors out of over $13 million in a cryptocurrency investment scam.
  • The scheme involved the use of automated trading robots powered by artificial intelligence, which was promoted as a way to generate high-yield profits.
  • The defendants created a fictitious government entity called the Federal Crypto Reserve (FCR) to further victimize investors who had entrusting their money with the investment firms.
  • Mazzotta worked with others to conceal and destroy evidence at Saffron's apartment, including an iPad and the contents of a personal safe, to obstruct justice.
  • Mazzotta also conspired to falsify the records of his business, Runway Beauty Inc., to conceal his involvement in the investment fraud scheme from a federal grand jury.
  • The case was investigated by the IRS-CI and is being prosecuted by the Fraud Section of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

Statistics:

  • The defendants defrauded victims out of $13 million in a cryptocurrency investment scam.
  • Mazzotta faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the money laundering count and a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy to obstruct justice count.
  • The case was investigated by 20 IRS-CI special agents and took over 2 years to complete.

Sources:

  • U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs (no date)
  • Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, United States Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California, and Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office.

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