Venezuelan Man Faces 20 Years for Alleged $1B Crypto Money Laundering Scheme

Venezuelan Man Faces 20 Years for Alleged $1B Crypto Mone... Federal prosecutors charged Venezuelan national Jorge Figueira with laundering approximately $1 billion through cryptocurrency wallets and shell companies, marking one of the largest money-laundering operations prosecuted by the Justice Department. The post Venezuelan Man Faces 20 Years for Alleged... Federal prosecutors have charged a Venezuelan national with laundering approximately one billion dollars through crypto wallets and shell companies in what officials describe as one of the largest money-laundering operations prosecuted by the Justice Department. Jorge Figueira, 59, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to launder money, with authorities alleging his network processed illicit funds across multiple continents while deliberately concealing transactions from law enforcement.The complaint filed in Virginia's Eastern District accuses Figueira of directing a sophisticated laundering apparatus that converted cash into cryptocurrency, routed digital assets through multiple wallets, then exchanged them back into dollars before transferring proceeds to intended recipients in high-risk jurisdictions, including Colombia, China, Panama, and Mexico. Prosecutors say more than one billion dollars moved through identified crypto wallets and financial accounts between 2018 and the present, with the majority of inbound funds originating from crypto trading platforms. The U.S. DOJ charged Venezuelan national Jorge Figueira with conspiring to launder around $1 billion in illicit funds through bank accounts, crypto exchanges, and private wallets. The probe, supported by the FBI, alleges extensive crypto-based transfers to conceal fund origins.âEUR¦- Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 16, 2026 Billion-Dollar Network Operated Through Multiple JurisdictionsCourt documents reveal that Figueira allegedly enlisted subordinates to execute hundreds of transfers designed to obscure the origins and destinations of funds. The operation relied on various bank accounts, crypto exchange accounts, private digital wallets, and shell companies to move voluminous amounts of illicit money into and out of the United States, according to federal investigators.FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis said the bureau identified approximately $1 billion in crypto passing through wallets used by Figueira's laundering operation. The network allegedly served individuals and businesses worldwide while conducting scores of transfers intended to conceal the nature of funds and potentially facilitate criminal activity across numerous countries.U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan emphasized the scale of alleged criminal conduct, stating that âEUR?"money laundering at this level enables transnational criminal organizations to operate, expand, and inflict real-world harm.âEUR âEUR?"Those who move illicit funds in the billions should expect to be identified, disrupted, and held fully accountable under federal law,âEUR she warned.Federal Crackdown Extends Across Multiple Crypto Crime NetworksThe charges against Figueira arrive amid intensified federal enforcement targeting crypto-related money laundering nationwide. In fact, earlier this week, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg urged New York lawmakers to criminalize unlicensed crypto operations he characterized as a "$51 billion criminal economy."Federal data shows the scope of crypto-enabled crime, with the FBI reporting nearly 11,000 crypto ATM-related complaints in 2024 totaling more than $246 million. Separately, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis found that illicit crypto addresses received a record $154 billion in 2025, a sharp increase from previous years.Source: ChainalysisRecent prosecutions have targeted operations across the criminal spectrum. On Thursday, Utah resident Brian Garry Sewell was sentenced to three years in prison for running a $2.9 million fraud scheme while simultaneously operating an unlicensed cash-to-crypto business that converted more than $5.4 million in bulk cash. Last month, prosecutors charged another 23-year-old Brooklyn resident, Ronald Spektor, with stealing roughly $16 million from approximately 100 Coinbase users through alleged phishing schemes that relied on panic tactics rather than technical hacks.With all these massive seizures that keep growing, the government has moved to establish the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, formalizing the retention of seized crypto rather than auctioning it.This was one of the first things Donald Trump did when he took office, even signing an executive order to support it....