The U.S. Department of Justice has charged federal inmate Rossen Iossifov with stealing and laundering approximately $290,000 in cryptocurrency he was previously ordered to forfeit. Iossifov, already serving a sentence for laundering nearly $5 million for a fraud network, allegedly orchestrated the transfers from prison in January 2024 using crypto mixers. He now faces up to 25 additional years in prison if convicted of the new charges.
New charges from prison
- ▪The new charges include removal of property to prevent seizure, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy to commit money laundering
- ▪Bulgarian national Rossen G. Iossifov, 53, has been charged with conspiring to launder approximately $290,000 in cryptocurrency
- ▪The new charges were filed while Iossifov was already serving a 111-month federal prison sentence from a prior conviction
- ▪If convicted on the new charges, Rossen Iossifov faces a maximum sentence of up to 25 years in prison
Original RG Coins conviction
- ▪The AOAF network used fake listings on sites like eBay and Craigslist to defraud at least 900 American victims
- ▪In the original scheme, Rossen Iossifov laundered nearly $5 million in cryptocurrency in under three years
- ▪As part of his 2021 sentence, Iossifov was ordered to pay over $2.6 million in restitution and forfeit the cryptocurrency involved in the new charges
- ▪His 2021 conviction stemmed from his ownership of RG Coins, a crypto exchange in Sofia, Bulgaria, that served the Alexandria Online Auction Fraud (AOAF) Network
- ▪Rossen Iossifov was previously convicted in 2021 of racketeering and money laundering conspiracies
Alleged cryptocurrency transfers
- ▪The alleged transfers of the $290,000 in forfeited crypto occurred in January 2024
- ▪The funds were allegedly moved through multiple cryptocurrency exchanges and mixing services to obscure their trail and prevent government recovery
Justice Department enforcement record
- ▪The U.S. Secret Service investigated both the original case and the new charges against Rossen Iossifov
- ▪The DOJ's computer crime section has secured convictions of more than 180 cyber criminals and returned over $350 million to victims since 2020
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