Headline: American Bitcoin Academy founder Brian Sewell gets 3 years in prison for $2.9M crypto fraud, ordered to pay $3.8M Brian Gary Sewell, founder of the American Bitcoin Academy, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for his role in defrauding investors and operating an unlicensed crypto money-transmitting business, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah said in a Jan. 15 statement. Key facts - Sewell, 54, a Washington County, Utah resident, pleaded guilty to wire fraud. - He ran two concurrent schemes and was ordered to pay $3.8 million in combined restitution. - From December 2017 to April 2024, Sewell obtained funds from at least 17 investors by misrepresenting his experience, education, and ability to generate high returns, collecting more than $2.9 million. - Separately, from March to September 2020, he operated Rockwell Capital Management—an unlicensed money-transmitting business that converted bulk cash to cryptocurrency for third parties. Authorities say that venture converted over $5.4 million in cash to crypto and bypassed federal anti-money-laundering rules; some transactions involved criminals engaged in fraud and drug trafficking. Quote and enforcement context “Sewell preyed on his victims by lying about his experience and promising returns he could not deliver, leaving individuals and families to bear the consequences of his deception,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls said. Regulatory action and arrest The Securities and Exchange Commission had previously charged Sewell in February 2024. Sewell and Rockwell Capital Management settled with the SEC without admitting or denying the allegations; they were ordered to pay a $223,229 civil penalty and roughly $1.6 million in disgorgement plus interest. Sewell was arrested in Salt Lake City after a federal grand jury returned an indictment. Trend in crypto enforcement Sewell’s sentence follows several high-profile DOJ prosecutions targeting alleged facilitators of illicit crypto activity. Recent cases include multi-year prison terms for Samourai Wallet co-founder and CTO William Hill (4 years) and CEO Keonne Rodriguez (5 years); that case also involved a $237.8 million forfeiture and about $6.3 million in criminal penalties and restitution. Why it matters Prosecutors say Sewell combined investment fraud with unlicensed transmission of funds, illustrating how fraud and money-transmission violations increasingly intersect in crypto-related enforcement. The case highlights continuing federal efforts to police false investment claims and unregistered/unsupervised crypto services that skirt anti-money-laundering requirements. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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