United States prosecutors are seeking a long sentence for an executive in a shadowy crypto banking case that has dragged on for five years.
On April 18, US District Attorney Damian Williams archived a request before the sentencing of Reginald Fowler which is scheduled for April 20.
Fowler, the former minority owner of the NFL team Minnesota Vikings, was originally arrested and charged with bank fraud, illegal money transfers and shadow banking conspiracy in 2019 for his alleged operation of an unlicensed money transmission business.
On behalf of the government, Williams is seeking a sentence of at least seven years in prison. However the He suggested a range of 15 to 20 years to reflect the seriousness of the crime.
Fowler established a company called Global Trading Solutions (GTS) in 2018 under the umbrella of Panama-based Crypto Capital Corp, an alleged shadow crypto bank.
He was charged with acting as an unlicensed money transmitter and deceiving financial institutions. Through Crypto Capital, he allegedly provided shadow banking services to various crypto exchanges including Bitfinex, Binance, CEX.io, and QuadrigaCX.
Between February and October 2018, GTS and Crypto Capital processed approximately $750 million in cryptocurrency transactions that provide illegal access to the US banking system for unlicensed cryptocurrency firms, according to the filing.
Ivรกn Manuel Molina Lee, the head of Crypto Capital, was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of money laundering and being involved in a Colombian drug cartel.
Crypto Capital was a key player in the court case regarding Bitfinex failing to disclose the loss of $850 million in customer funds. That case was settled in February 2022, with the companies ordered to pay $18.5 million in civil penalties and shut down New York business operations.
Related: Crypto Capital NFL Defendant Open to Plead to Guilty, But Not for $371 Million
In 2020, Fowler pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on $5 million bail, however, he pleaded guilty again in April 2022. As his sentencing nears, Williams concluded:
โReginald Fowler has committed serious crimes. Only a significant term of imprisonment, of at least 84 months in prison, could reflect that seriousness, promote respect for the law, and provide an adequate deterrent."
In September 2022, Fowler requested a six-month deferral citing a serious medical condition.
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