a registered broker with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is due to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Downtown Brooklyn on April 11, a day after his arrest.
“As alleged, Russell turned the demand for cryptocurrency investments into a scheme to defraud numerous investors in order to fund his lifestyle,” stated United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace in a statement. “This office will continue to aggressively pursue fraudsters perpetrating these schemes against investors in the digital asset markets.”
As alleged, the former Brooklyn banker sent one investor an altered image of a bank balance displayed on a bank website that purported to show Russell’s substantial liquidity.