Reginald Fowler, 63, previously co-owned the Minnesota Vikings. According to U.S. law enforcement, he organized a financial scheme to work with cryptocurrency firms. The scheme itself worked for 10 months in 2018, but Fowler was arrested in 2019. He initially pleaded not guilty, but pleaded guilty in 2022.<br
“Reginald Fowler circumvented federal laws and processed hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions from cryptocurrency exchanges. This is called shadow banking. He lied to financial regulators, which put the U.S. financial system at serious risk,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Fowler founded Global Trading Solutions (GTS), which worked with crypto firm Crypto Capital and several other digital asset companies. Interestingly, GTS services were also used by iFinex, the firm behind the Bitfinex exchange and Tether.
Fowler sentenced to 6 years in prison for digital fraud and money laundering. He must also turn over to the state $740 million in illicit proceeds and $53 million in fines.
Recall that recently the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against the exchange Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao.