🚨 AML Bitcoin Founder Sentenced to 7 Years for $10M Crypto Fraud

[cryptohog]

Rowland Marcus Andrade, the founder behind AML Bitcoin, is heading to prison for seven years after being found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering in a scheme that defrauded investors out of $10 million.

🧾 What happened?

Andrade made false claims about AML Bitcoin’s technology and partnerships, including a completely fabricated deal with the Panama Canal Authority.

He used $2 million of investor funds on personal luxuries — including real estate and fancy cars — while investors were left holding the bag.

The U.S. Department of Justice called the project a fraudulent illusion of a legitimate crypto business.

Andrade was convicted in March 2025 and sentenced this week. The sentence is shorter than the 17.5 years prosecutors wanted, but far longer than the two-year term his legal team hoped for.

His prison term begins October 31, followed by 3 years of supervised release. He must also forfeit assets, which will go toward victim restitution (final amount TBD on Sept. 16).
️ Bonus context: Remember Jack Abramoff?

Yep, the infamous lobbyist was connected to AML Bitcoin too. Back in 2020, Abramoff was fined and banned from securities offerings after promoting the project — and has his own history of fraud convictions.
Why this matters for crypto:

This case is another reminder that crypto fraud = real prison time. Regulators are cracking down hard — especially when investors are misled and funds are misused.

Let’s keep building in Web3 — but do it legit. ️

What do you think?

Was seven years too light for defrauding $10M?

Should misleading claims about tech or partnerships be punished this harshly?

Are we finally seeing regulators catch up to crypto bad actors?

Drop your thoughts

[Maxwell]

Defrauding investors of $10 million with completely fake claims — and only getting 7 years? That’s less than a year per $1.4M stolen. If we want real deterrents in crypto, the penalties need to send a stronger message. Otherwise, scammers just treat prison time as a cost of doing business

[rafihasan]

Projects hyping up fake tech or partnerships isn’t new — but now it’s clearly crossing into criminal territory. This case should be a wake-up call: 'marketing spin' in crypto can land you in federal court if it misleads investors.

[Nahiar806]

The Andrade case, plus Do Kwon, Mashinsky, and SBF, shows regulators are catching up. For years, bad actors thought crypto was a legal gray zone. Now it’s crystal clear: fraud is fraud — blockchain or not