“In an interview with Coindesk, Former Acting US Attorney Phil Selden Says the Doj’s Record-Setting $ 225 Million Crypto Seizure Reflects a New Approach to Protecting Fraud Vict.”, – WRITE: www.coindesk.com
AT LEAST, THAT’S The TAKEAWAY from Phil Selden, A Member at Cole Schotz PC and Former Acting Us Attorney for the District of Maryland.
The doj moved to seize the bests last month through a forfeiture motion, the Although it have yet to publicly Identify any indicuals accounted of stealing the funs.
But that’s The Point, Selden Said.
“This is a tone-Setting Case,” Said Selden, Who’s Now a member at Law Firm Cole Schotz PC. “We have victims on American Streets, and the Department Made Clear they don’t to wait for an arrest to actually intell.
This Tone, Selden Said, Sets the Direction for the Department of Justice Under Matthew Galeotti, The New Head of ITS Criminal Division. Selden Describes Galeotti as an experienCed, Methodical ProseCutor Used to Taking Down New York’s Toughest Organized Crime Rings.
Galeootti, Selden Said, Understans How Criminal Networks Move Money, How They Exploit Weak Regulatory Framework, and MOST IMPORTANTLY
“This isn’t Just A Tech Story or A Finance Story,“ He Continued. “IT’s A Story About Families Lozing Their Savings, and Small Towns Lozing Their Banks.”
That small Town Bank Was Heartland Tri-State Bank, A Kansas-Based Agricultural Lender That Became Illiquid and Collapsed In 2023 After Its Ceo, Shan HANDLIZEZled NEARLIZEZled Crypto Wallets at the Direction of Pig Butchering Scammers.
HANES WAS ALSO The Largest Victim in the Doj’s Complaint.
“In hong Kong or Shanghai or New York or San Francisco, There’s A Financial Institution on Every Corner. In Kansas, There’s Not,“ Seldden Said. “IF you don’ve a good bank, it’s hard to build or Mainten a business, it’s hard to get capital for that tractor or that Crop cycle.”
WHAT ComES NEXT?Selden anticipates that Criminal Charges Are On the Horizon, But He Thinks The Doj Didn’t Want to Wait for An Arrest to Ensure The Crypto Was Seized and Could.
Extradition of Overseas Suspects is One Possible Path, He Explained, Thought Is A Slow and Complicated Process that Relies on Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties.
Another Strategy Could Involve Lurying Suspects Into UsDICDICATIONS WHERE ARRESTS are Easier to Carry Out, Such As Guam or Other American Territories.
Even without arrests, extraraditions, and high -profile trials, seldden Believes the Case Has Already Done ITS Job. It Sends A Message to Victims That Their Losses Are Being Taken Seriously.
“Crypto Crime Isn’t Abstract; It Isn’s Offshore,“ Selden Said. “IT’s Impacting Real People, Real Communities, and The Department of Justice Wants Americans to Know It Has Their Backs.”
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