Two individuals, Shane Hampton (32 yrs) and Michael Kane (39 yrs) have been sentenced for their roles in manipulating the price of HYDRO– a cryptocurrency linked to Hydrogen Technology. Shane and Michael received a sentence of two years 11 months and three years 9 months, respectively.
The case, prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, marks a significant legal precedent. It’s the first federal criminal trial where a jury determined that a cryptocurrency qualifies as a security.
According to court documents, Kane, as CEO of Hydrogen Technology, and Hampton, as Head of Financial Engineering, orchestrated a scheme using an automated trading bot to inflate HYDRO’s price on a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange.
This manipulation involved about $7 million in “wash trades” and over $300 million in “spoof trades,” misleading investors into purchasing HYDRO at artificially inflated prices.
Kane pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation and wire fraud, while a jury convicted Hampton on similar counts. Their actions resulted in approximately $2 million in illicit profits from selling HYDRO over ten months.
The investigation by the FBI Miami Field Office uncovered their collaboration with Moonwalkers Trading Limited to execute these fraudulent trades from October 2018 to April 2019. Both Kane and Hampton’s sentencing underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to safeguarding cryptocurrency markets by enforcing federal securities laws.
Also Read: FBI Warns of Law Firm Impersonation in Crypto Scam
