Former Deutsche Bank executive convicted of fraudulent schemes

Rashawn Russell, a 28-year-old former Deutsche Bank AG investment banker, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for fraud, including a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme and separate access device fraud .

The sentencing took place in the Eastern District Court of New York in Brooklyn. In addition to his prison sentence, Russell must pay the victims $1.5 million in restitution.

Prosecutors also say Russell lured his friends, college classmates and former co-workers into investing in his company and digital assets, claiming it would earn them high profits.

He told some investors they would get 25% back; some reached 100% false reporting. Nevertheless, the new investors' money was used to pay the first participants and pay for their individual expenses, including gambling.

In the course of criminal activity, from September 2021 to June 2023, Russell fraudulently acquired at least 97 credit and debit cards and 43 identification cards using third party contact information. He primarily stole them from gym lockers in New York and New Jersey and used them to make unauthorized transactions.

Russell worked in Deutsche Bank's financial institutions group from 2018 to 2021. His criminal activities persisted until his arrest in April 2023.

Relatedly, disbarred California attorney David Kagel, 85, pleaded guilty to operating a separate cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, defrauding victims of more than $9.5 million. His sentence is set for September 10 and he faces up to five years in prison.

Read also : DOJ Arrests Botnet Mastermind for $130 Million Cyber ​​Scam.