3 Most Controversial Crypto Figures of 2023

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — The year is finally coming to a close. Throughout the past 12 months, several individuals in the cryptocurrency industry have made news of their involvement in various scams, rug pulls, and illegal activities. Identifying the three most controversial crypto figures in 2023 is difficult, as the list isn’t short. 

However, some controversial news from the crypto industry involved high-profile individuals. For example, a jury found FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) guilty of several fraud charges after a month-long trial. 

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who founded the largest crypto exchange by volume, is another well-known disgraced figure. He recently pled guilty to charges related to violating US Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements. 

However, others didn’t make enough noise, as visible by the actions taken by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and other regulators. 

Here are three controversial crypto figures of 2023.

1. Karl Sebastian Greenwood of One Coin

Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who Co-Founded One Coin with Ruja Ignatova, aka Cryptoqueen, in 2014, is one of those who kickstarted a storm in the crypto world. Although arrested in July 2018 from his home in Koh Samui, Thailand, he remained out of sight for years as the authorities kept looking for his partner in crime. 

In September 2023, a US court in Manhattan sentenced him to 20 years in prison concerning his role in the Ponzi Scheme. Additionally, the court ordered him to pay $300 million in forfeiture.

His global multi-level marketing network ensured that investors were defrauded of nearly $4 billion.

2. Ian Freeman Makes it to the list of 3 Most Controversial Crypto Figures of 2023

In October this year, US District Court Judge Joseph Laplante sentenced Ian Freeman to 96 months in prison and two years of supervised release. The prosecutors accused him of laundering over $10 million in proceeds through a Bitcoin (BTC) romance scam and internet fraud. 

According to the sentencing, he also had to pay a fine of $40,000 and restitution to his victims. 

“The defendant’s criminal conduct devastated many vulnerable people. Dozens of victims were identified during the investigation. Many of them lost their life’s savings by way of Freeman’s bitcoin money laundering scheme,” 

US Attorney Jane E. Young said after the ruling. 

Freeman used church-related accounts to hide these activities and evade taxes. He told his victims to lie to authorities about their contributions by falsely presenting them as donations. 

According to authorities, the investigation involved the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the IRS, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Moreover, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and the Department of Justice Tax Division also assisted in the case. 

3. Among Most Controversial Crypto Figures of 2023 is Amir Bruno Elmaani 

At the end of October 2023, Amir Bruno Elmaani, aka “Bruno Block,” who founded Oyster Protocol, was sentenced to four years for tax evasion. His crime stemmed from his creation and promotion of the Pearl token (PRL). 

Although he earned millions through the crypto scheme, he did not report this to the IRS. Instead, he unreported his profits and filed a false 2017 tax return stating that he had only approximately $15,000 of income. 

However, Elmaani spent tens of millions of dollars the following year on various things, including yachts, two new houses, a carbon-fiber composite company, etc. 

All these cost the state over $5.5 million in tax losses.

 “Amir Elmaani violated the duty he owed to pay taxes on millions of dollars of cryptocurrency profits, and he also violated the trust of investors in the cryptocurrency he founded. Participants in the cryptocurrency markets must play by the rules, and this Office will be tireless in prosecuting those who do not.” 

US Attorney Damian Williams said.

In addition to his maximum sentence of 4 years, he will spend an additional year on supervised release. 

Besides the above three most controversial crypto figures of 2023, others also deserve a mention. James Zhong, one of the members of the Silk Road Bitcoin illegal gang, also received a sentence for wire fraud. He was accused of r illegally obtaining around 50,000 Bitcoins from the Silk Road dark web online marketplace.

Moreover, French developer Aurelien Michel, who masterminded the Mutant Ape Planet non-fungible token (NFT) collection scam, pleaded guilty in US federal court. He agreed to pay a $1.4 million fine as part of his plea.