Rowland Marcus Andrade also faces a civil case by the SEC
The founder of AML Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency exchange marketed as a platform with strong anti-money laundering protections, has been convicted of wire fraud and money laundering in a California federal court. Rowland Marcus Andrade was found guilty on March 12 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, following a trial that revealed his role in a scheme to deceive investors.
Authorities first brought charges against Andrade in 2020, alongside a civil case filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against him and his company, the NAC Foundation. The SEC’s lawsuit was put on hold until the criminal proceedings were completed, meaning it may now resume.
According to prosecutors, Andrade misled investors by claiming AML Bitcoin would be a revolutionary digital currency that complied with anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer regulations. He used these claims to conduct an initial coin offering between 2017 and 2018, raising over $2 million. However, the cryptocurrency never launched, and evidence presented at trial showed that Andrade misused investor funds, spending them on real estate and luxury cars.
Federal officials highlighted the fraudulent nature of Andrade’s promises. The Justice Department pointed out that he falsely claimed the Panama Canal Authority was considering AML Bitcoin for transactions, even though no such deal existed. Linda Nguyen, a special agent with the IRS Criminal Investigation unit, stated that Andrade’s deception convinced people to invest their savings in a project that was built on false claims.
Andrade, who has been out on bond since 2020, is set to be sentenced on July 22. He faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud and 10 years for money laundering, marking a significant outcome in the government’s crackdown on cryptocurrency-related fraud.
