A federal grand jury has indicted Rodney “Bitcoin Rodney” Burton, 56, of Miami, Florida, and Prince George’s County, Maryland, for his alleged involvement in a $1.8 billion fraud scheme. The charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
The indictment was announced by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter from the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington D.C. Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – New York.
Court documents state that between June 2020 and May 2024, Burton and others allegedly promoted HyperFund as a legitimate investment platform along with its successor platforms. Promotional materials for HyperFund reportedly included false claims that investors who purchased memberships would receive daily passive rewards amounting to between 0.5 and 1 percent until their initial investments were doubled or tripled. Victims included investors from Maryland.
HyperFund is accused of misleading investors by stating that payments would be funded through revenues from large-scale cryptocurrency mining operations. However, according to the indictment, such operations did not exist. Beginning in 2021, HyperFund allegedly began blocking investor withdrawals. The indictment further alleges that Burton used proceeds from HyperFund investors to purchase luxury condominiums, sports cars, and a yacht.
The announcement notes: "An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding."
If convicted on all charges, Burton could face up to 20 years in federal prison for each count related to wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud itself; up to 10 years for each money laundering charge; and five years for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Sentences imposed are typically less than the maximum penalties after consideration by a federal district court judge under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Hayes recognized the efforts of IRS-CI and HSI-New York in the investigation process and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Spencer L. Todd and Christina A. Hoffman for prosecuting the case.
More information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-md as well as details on community outreach at https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
