Federal prosecutors have charged a Venezuelan nationwide with laundering roughly one billion {dollars} by way of crypto wallets and shell firms in what officers describe as one of many largest money-laundering operations prosecuted by the Justice Division.
Jorge Figueira, 59, faces as much as 20 years in jail if convicted of conspiracy to launder cash, with authorities alleging his community processed illicit funds throughout a number of continents whereas intentionally concealing transactions from regulation enforcement.
The criticism filed in Virginia’s Japanese District accuses Figueira of directing a classy laundering equipment that transformed money into cryptocurrency, routed digital property by way of a number of wallets, then exchanged them again into {dollars} earlier than transferring proceeds to meant recipients in high-risk jurisdictions, together with Colombia, China, Panama, and Mexico.
Prosecutors say a couple of billion {dollars} moved by way of recognized crypto wallets and monetary accounts between 2018 and the current, with the vast majority of inbound funds originating from crypto buying and selling platforms.
The U.S. DOJ charged Venezuelan nationwide Jorge Figueira with conspiring to launder round $1 billion in illicit funds by way of financial institution accounts, crypto exchanges, and personal wallets. The probe, supported by the FBI, alleges in depth crypto-based transfers to hide fund origins.…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 16, 2026
Billion-Greenback Community Operated Via A number of Jurisdictions
Court docket paperwork reveal that Figueira allegedly enlisted subordinates to execute a whole bunch of transfers designed to obscure the origins and locations of funds.
The operation relied on varied financial institution accounts, crypto trade accounts, non-public digital wallets, and shell firms to maneuver voluminous quantities of illicit cash into and out of the US, in keeping with federal investigators.
FBI Washington Subject Workplace Felony Division Particular Agent in Cost Reid Davis mentioned the bureau recognized roughly $1 billion in crypto passing by way of wallets utilized by Figueira’s laundering operation.
The community allegedly served people and companies worldwide whereas conducting scores of transfers meant to hide the character of funds and doubtlessly facilitate legal exercise throughout quite a few international locations.
U.S. Lawyer Lindsey Halligan emphasised the size of alleged legal conduct, stating that “cash laundering at this degree allows transnational legal organizations to function, increase, and inflict real-world hurt.”
“Those that transfer illicit funds within the billions ought to count on to be recognized, disrupted, and held totally accountable below federal regulation,” she warned.
Federal Crackdown Extends Throughout A number of Crypto Crime Networks
The costs in opposition to Figueira arrive amid intensified federal enforcement concentrating on crypto-related cash laundering nationwide.
In reality, earlier this week, Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg urged New York lawmakers to criminalize unlicensed crypto operations he characterised as a “$51 billion legal economic system.“
Federal information exhibits the scope of crypto-enabled crime, with the FBI reporting practically 11,000 crypto ATM-related complaints in 2024 totaling greater than $246 million.
Individually, blockchain analytics agency Chainalysis discovered that illicit crypto addresses acquired a file $154 billion in 2025, a pointy enhance from earlier years.
Latest prosecutions have focused operations throughout the legal spectrum.
On Thursday, Utah resident Brian Garry Sewell was sentenced to a few years in jail for working a $2.9 million fraud scheme whereas concurrently working an unlicensed cash-to-crypto enterprise that transformed greater than $5.4 million in bulk money.
Final month, prosecutors charged one other 23-year-old Brooklyn resident, Ronald Spektor, with stealing roughly $16 million from roughly 100 Coinbase customers by way of alleged phishing schemes that relied on panic techniques moderately than technical hacks.
With all these large seizures that continue to grow, the federal government has moved to determine the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, formalizing the retention of seized crypto moderately than auctioning it.
This was one of many first issues Donald Trump did when he took workplace, even signing an government order to help it.
Just lately, issues took a unique flip when it was found that the U.S. Division of Justice seems to have offered 57 Bitcoin forfeited by Samourai Pockets builders.
A White Home crypto advisor mentioned the US authorities has not offered any Bitcoin forfeited within the Samourai Pockets case.#DOJ #Bitcoinhttps://t.co/pfX7fkilo8
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) January 17, 2026
Nonetheless, White Home crypto advisor Patrick Witt confirmed yesterday, Friday, that the Bitcoin forfeited within the case has not been liquidated and can stay a part of the reserve per government order, with present federal holdings estimated at 328,372 BTC valued at over $31 billion.
For now, a legal criticism is merely an accusation, and Figueira is presumed harmless till confirmed responsible. Assistant U.S. Lawyer Catherine Rosenberg is prosecuting the case, with sentencing pointers and statutory elements to be thought of if a conviction happens.
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