When 'Market Making' Just Meant Making Up Numbers: DOJ Slaps 10 Foreign Nats with Pump-and-Dump Charges

The U.S. Department of Justice dropped charges Monday against 10 individuals connected to four market maker firms—Gotbit, Vortex, Antier, and Contranian—allegedly running classic pump-and-dump operations in crypto markets. Because nothing says "providing liquidity" quite like artificially pumping a token until it looks like Bitcoin's second coming, then dumping faster than a degen chasing a new meme coin at 3am.

Prosecutors say the defendants conspired to artificially inflate trading volumes and cryptocurrency prices before dumping their holdings onto unwitting investors at peak valuations. "These so-called pump-and-dump schemes caused losses to investors in the United States and elsewhere," prosecutors noted. Authorities have seized over $1 million in cryptocurrency so far. The victims, presumably, are still holding the bag and checking CoinGecko prices with tear-stained screens.

Three defendants, including senior executives, were extradited from Singapore and appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in Oakland. Two others have already pleaded guilty and received sentences. Nothing says "global crypto hub" like getting arrested in one country and flown to face the music in another—probably while still trying to explain to their families why "market making" doesn't actually involve making markets.

The case highlights how U.S. authorities are extending their reach to overseas actors whose alleged activities impact American crypto markets—even when the defendants operate entirely outside the United States. Plot twist: you can't just hide behind a .com domain and a VPN and expect the SEC to send you a strongly worded letter and call it a day.

The charges stem from an FBI undercover operation that deployed a bureau-created token to expose alleged market manipulation services—the same technique used in October 2024 charges against 18 individuals and entities. The FBI basically pulled the oldest trick in the book: create a token, watch the grifters grift, and take notes. Classic honeypot, except the honey is a synthetic coin and the bears are allegedly fraudulent market makers.

Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin has already reached a plea agreement to forfeit $23 million in crypto assets. The 26-year-old was extradited to the U.S. in late February after being arrested in Portugal. Court documents show his operations caused financial harm to market participants who bought crypto at fraudulently inflated prices. At least he got to keep the frequent flyer miles from