Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur Rowland Marcus Andrade Convicted of Wire Fraud and Money Laundering

A federal jury in the Northern District of California on Wednesday convicted cryptocurrency entrepreneur Rowland Marcus Andrade of wire fraud and money laundering

A federal jury in the Northern District of California on Wednesday convicted cryptocurrency entrepreneur Rowland Marcus Andrade of wire fraud and money laundering connected to the sale of a token called AML Bitcoin.

The jury found Andrade, 50, guilty of one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

The charges arose from an initial coin offering Andrade conducted for AML Bitcoin in 2017 and 2018. Early court filings covered by CoinDesk alleged Andrade, a Texas resident, falsely told investors that AML Bitcoin tokens would ultimately be converted into a tradeable AML Bitcoin currency — a cryptocurrency that never launched and was named to resemble the popular Bitcoin token.

Andrade is scheduled to be sentenced in July. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud count and 10 years in prison for the money laundering count, and forfeiture of all property that is traceable to his wire fraud and money laundering violations including property that Andrade bought in Texas.

“As the jury found today, Rowland Andrade lied to investors to enrich himself and diverted more than $2 million in proceeds from the sale of AML Bitcoin to be used on personal expenses, including the purchase of two properties in Texas and two luxury automobiles,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins. “Andrade also falsely claimed that the Panama Canal Authority was close to permitting AML Bitcoin to be used for ships passing through the Panama Canal when no such agreement existed.”

Andrade was one of two people charged by the Department of Justice in the case. The agency named famed D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff a co-conspirator and he pleaded guilty and paid more than $50,000 in disgorgement and interest. Abramoff is better known for his involvement in a federal corruption scandal that resulted in his imprisonment and was depicted in the film “Casino Jack.”

“This case marks the conclusion of one of the first and longest-running crypto ‘pump-and-dump’ cases to involve U.S. federal prosecutors,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Williams. “We are grateful to the jury for their service in holding this defendant accountable for his actions.”

The case began after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued a group of people and entities in 2019 for allegedly conducting a "pump-and-dump" scheme through the sale of AML Bitcoin tokens. The SEC case was later dropped.