US prosecutors have charged Bulgarian national Rossen Iossifov with conspiring to launder roughly $290,000 in cryptocurrency that federal authorities seized and ordered forfeited after his earlier fraud conviction.

Iossifov allegedly conspired to move the funds in January 2024 while serving a federal prison sentence. He remains presumed innocent, and an indictment represents only an allegation.

A Repeat Offender Behind Bars

Iossifov was convicted in 2021 in the Eastern District of Kentucky. A jury found him guilty of racketeering and money laundering conspiracies.

He owned RG Coins, a crypto exchange based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The platform served a Romanian fraud ring known as the Alexandria Online Auction Fraud (AOAF) Network.

The network defrauded at least 900 American victims through a sprawling online auction fraud scheme. Court evidence showed Iossifov laundered nearly $5 million in crypto over less than three years. In return, he earned more than $184,000 in personal profit.

How the New Crypto Laundering Charges Took Shape

After his 2021 conviction, the court ordered Iossifov to forfeit the cryptocurrency at issue. It also ordered him to pay $2.6 million in restitution to the victims.

In January 2024, he allegedly conspired to transfer the forfeited crypto. The funds moved through several exchanges and mixers, according to the press release.

Mixers blend transactions to obscure the trail of funds. Prosecutors say the transfers were meant to prevent the US from recovering the money.

The Secret Service, which investigated both cases, framed the alleged conduct as an affront to the courts.

“Iossifov’s deliberate attempt to remove and launder lawfully seized funds is a direct challenge to our justice system and a blatant disregard to his victims’ rights,” Special Agent in Charge Robert Holman of the US Secret Service (USSS) Louisville Field Office said.

He now faces charges of removal of property to prevent seizure and conspiracy to commit money laundering. A conviction could carry a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.

Source: BeInCrypto