News linked to both this project and an event.
According to Fox News, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in collaboration with law enforcement agencies in Dubai, China, and Thailand, conducted a large-scale multinational joint operation that successfully dismantled at least nine overseas cryptocurrency scam centers and arrested 276 suspects, involving millions of dollars in illicit funds. In this operation, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California filed federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering against six suspects. Those charged include nationals from Myanmar and Indonesia, who operated scam organizations under names such as “Sanduo Group” and “Giant Company.” Dubai police arrested 275 suspects, while the Royal Thai Police apprehended one additional fugitive. These scam networks employed the “pig-butchering” scheme—building fake friendships or romantic relationships to gain victims’ trust, then luring them into transferring funds to fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms, after which the proceeds were laundered and transferred to criminal accounts. This operation aligns with the executive order signed by Trump on March 6, 2026, aimed at combating overseas criminal networks that exploit U.S. citizens. The FBI’s dedicated initiative, “Operation Level Up,” has notified approximately 9,000 victims and recovered roughly $562 million in losses for U.S. citizens. The FBI urges victims to report incidents through the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
According to South Korean media outlet Newsis, a man in his twenties, who worked as a company finance staff member in South Korea, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by the Busan District Court for embezzling corporate funds to invest in cryptocurrencies. The court determined that between 2021 and 2025, he transferred company funds into his personal account approximately 680 times, embezzling a total of roughly 570 million KRW, which he used for cryptocurrency trading, overseas travel, and daily expenses. He also forged certificates of corporate deposit trust balances to conceal his crimes.
Odaily News: The U.S. Department of Justice disclosed that Carmine Agnello, the grandson of gangster John Gotti, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining approximately $1.1 million in COVID-19 relief funds and investing part of the money into cryptocurrency businesses.Prosecutors stated that between April 2020 and November 2021, Agnello obtained multiple relief loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through false applications, claiming they were for the operation of his auto parts and recycling business. In reality, he diverted the funds for personal use, with about $420,000 invested in cryptocurrency-related investments.The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said this conduct occurred during the peak of the pandemic and constituted a serious misuse of government aid funds. Agnello is expected to begin serving his prison sentence on July 1.Furthermore, official data shows that fraud related to U.S. pandemic relief funds is severe. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that approximately $135 billion (about 15% of the total) flowed into fraudulent activities. (CoinDesk)
Cryptocurrency law firm Burwick Law has filed a federal class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) against defendants including Walters—the creator of AI16Z and ELIZAOS—alleging violations of consumer protection laws, false advertising, and unjust enrichment. Court documents indicate that the defendants allegedly leveraged the brand reputation of Andreessen Horowitz (“a16z”) to market the project, launching the AI16Z token on Solana on October 24, 2024, later rebranding it as ELIZAOS. The complaint alleges that the project claimed to deploy autonomous AI agents capable of making investment decisions, whereas operations were in fact manually conducted—and no revenue was generated during the litigation period. On January 2, 2025, the token reached an all-time high price of approximately $2.47, with a market capitalization exceeding $2.6 billion; it subsequently collapsed amid large-scale sell-offs by major holders. On-chain data shows that the most profitable trader realized gains of roughly $39 million.