$428,000 Fine for CLS Global After Falling for FBI’s Crypto Decoy

The firm agreed to give up cryptocurrency and pay financial penalties after pleading guilty in a Boston court. CLS Global will also be banned from operating in US crypto markets for the next three years.

Prosecutors say the case began with an undercover investigation designed to catch fake trading activity, known as wash trading.

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As part of the sting, federal agents created a made-up crypto project called NexFundAI. The project, along with its token, was listed on the decentralized exchange Uniswap UNI $5.93 .

CLS Global agreed to provide trading support for it, not knowing that it was part of a law enforcement operation.

An employee from the company later admitted in a video call that they used an automated tool to trade the token between wallets controlled by the firm. The employee also said, "I know that it’s wash trading and I know people might not be happy about it".

The company pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to manipulate markets and commit wire fraud. A second charge of wire fraud was also accepted in court in January 2025. The US Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts confirmed the guilty plea and noted that another person tied to the case has not yet been found guilty.

Recently, members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been accused of taking over $21 million in crypto during a probe into the defunct exchange Cryptoland. How did the case unfold? Read the full story.