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US Justice Department Said to Seek Dismissal of Charges Against BitClub Founder in $722 Million Crypto Fraud Case
Summary
- The U.S. Department of Justice is moving to drop charges against a BitClub Network founder accused in a $722 million cryptocurrency fraud case.
- The move follows Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's instruction to halt a regulatory strategy that relied on prosecutions against the digital-asset industry.
- BitClub Network is accused of recruiting investors by promising to share returns from a Bitcoin mining pool, then manipulating earnings and mining data to deceive them.
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The U.S. Department of Justice is moving to drop charges against a BitClub Network founder accused in a $722 million cryptocurrency fraud case.
Cointelegraph reported on July 10 that two people familiar with the matter said the office of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche had instructed federal prosecutors in New Jersey to seek dismissal of the indictment against BitClub founder Matthew Goettsche. In a filing with U.S. District Judge Claire Cecchi in New Jersey, Goettsche's lawyers wrote that the two sides had reached an agreement in principle but needed more time to finalize the details.
Goettsche was indicted in December 2019 on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and selling unregistered securities. He had been set to go on trial in October. If the case is dismissed, it would mark one of the most significant reversals in the history of U.S. cryptocurrency enforcement. The move would stand in contrast to the cases of three co-defendants — Silviu Balaci, Joseph Abel and Gordon Bradbeck — who have already pleaded guilty.
The move follows Blanche's April 2025 directive to stop using prosecutions as a regulatory strategy against the digital-asset industry.
BitClub Network was accused of recruiting investors by promising to share returns from investments in a Bitcoin mining pool, then manipulating earnings and mining data to deceive them.
