Two US-based gold dealers are reportedly pleading guilty over their roles in a nationwide scam that involves cryptocurrencies.
According to a new report by The State, Kenneth Brown Jr. and Nicholas Shepard – the operators of the gold and precious metals exchange Golden Eagle – have agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud.
The duo allegedly were part of a “well-established and large laundering network” that fleeced $600,000 from victims between 2021 and 2022.
The scam allegedly involves Brown and Shepard’s Golden Eagle, which received checks from victims of a romance scam known as pig butchering. In this scheme, bad actors use online personas to form intimate relationships with victims to get them to invest in fraudulent opportunities.
According to prosecutors, victims of the romance scam sent their own money to Golden Eagle. The victims also received money from compromised businesses, presumably to serve as fake profits earned from the fraudulent investments, but the funds were eventually sent to Golden Eagle as well.
The funds would subsequently be transferred to the now-defunct crypto platform Voyager before converting the money into digital assets.
However, in an email to The State, Brown’s attorney says the men are also victims of the scam and were not aware they were participating in it.
“What’s uncontested by anyone is that Mr. Brown and his brother-in-law, Mr. Shepard, were groomed into this conduct by members of a well-established and large laundering network. Our clients were unaware of how these individuals were fleecing end users.
Mr. Brown was devastated when he realized the money he was converting to cryptocurrency was allegedly from victims of a romance scam. He immediately began cooperating [with authorities] and also willingly forfeited a substantial amount of assets to satisfy the majority of the restitution.”
Brown and Shepard both face a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars and a maximum fine of $250,000.
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