Federal prosecutors in the United States have filed a superseding indictment against crypto promoter Rodney Burton, widely known as “Bitcoin Rodney”, expanding the case linked to the alleged $1.8 billion HyperFund investment scheme.
The new indictment, submitted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, adds multiple charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Burton, aged 56, now faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count, up to 10 years for each money laundering count, and up to five years for the unlicensed money transmission charge.
The escalation represents a significant increase from the original January 2024 complaint, which contained only two unlicensed money transmission counts carrying a maximum of five years each.
Burton was arrested in January at Miami International Airport while holding a one-way ticket to the United Arab Emirates, a detail prosecutors cited as evidence of flight risk.