Rashawn Russell, a former investment banker, was sentenced on Thursday to 41 months in prison for a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that caused $1.5 million in investor losses. From November 2020 to August 2022, Russell deceived multiple victims by promising high returns from cryptocurrency investments, only to misappropriate their funds for personal use, gambling, and repaying other investors. He consistently failed to return the principal investments and the promised returns, and falsely claimed to have wired money back to some victims upon their request. In addition to the cryptocurrency fraud, Russell was involved in an access device fraud scheme between September 2021 and June 2023, obtaining numerous credit and identification cards for unauthorized transactions. United States District Judge Hector Gonzalez ordered Russell to pay over $1.5 million in restitution.
