Gotbit Consulting LLC and its founder, Aleksei Andriunin, were sentenced for using wash trading to manipulate crypto markets. The firm created false trading volumes to enhance the visibility of client tokens, earning millions from this practice. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley ordered the company to forfeit $23 million in cryptocurrency, while Andriunin received an eight-month prison sentence and one year of supervised release. Both faced charges of market manipulation, wire fraud, and conspiracy, stemming from a larger federal crackdown on digital asset fraud initiated in October 2024. Gotbit admitted to executing manipulative trades that artificially inflated the trading prices and volumes of cryptocurrencies such as Robo Inu and Saitama. The Department of Justice revealed that Andriunin had developed software to facilitate these deceptive trades, which were marketed to clients as tools for gaining listings on major cryptocurrency exchanges.

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