‘Shadow Banker’ Reggie Fowler Faces 6 Years in Prison Over $750M in Crypto Transfers

Reginald Fowler has been sentenced to 75 months in jail for his function in facilitating over $750 million value of crypto transactions by unregulated shadow banking providers to the crypto business, in accordance to the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace within the Southern District of New York. 

Fowler, who previously co-owned the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, can also be serving time for violating U.S. cash laundering legal guidelines, mendacity to U.S. banks, and defrauding the Alliance of American Soccer (AAF).  

Fowler’s prison enterprise started again in 2018 when he established World Buying and selling Options LLC (GTS), a funds processor that was ostensibly established to supply Israeli blockchain companies—collectively recognized within the case as “Crypto Firms”—with a method of exchanging fiat for crypto. 

Nevertheless, because the banks have been reluctant to deal with crypto transactions, GTS and its affiliated “Crypto Firms” lied to open accounts and course of crypto transactions. 

Fowler opened dozens of accounts the world over with out disclosing the connection between GTS and the businesses concerned, processing a staggering $750 million in unlicensed transactions over ten months—regardless of not having the requisite money-transmitting license. 

U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams condemned Fowler, saying he “uncovered the U.S. monetary system to severe threat” by mendacity to the banks. 

Fowler pleaded responsible to fraud in April 2022. 

Fowler’s ties to Tether, Bitfinex

This isn’t the primary time Fowler’s title has come up in reference to a nine-figure discrepancy of doubtful legality. 

In 2019, the New York Legal professional Normal’s workplace pinned Fowler’s Crypto Capital enterprise to a controversial transaction from the Bitfinex change. 

Based on the Legal professional Normal’s workplace, Bitfinex allegedly tried to paper over an $850 million gap in its stability sheet by serving to itself to funds backing the favored eponymous dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether—which shares a dad or mum firm with Bitfinex—with out informing buyers.

For its half, Bitfinex claims the cash was deposited with Fowler’s funds processor after which seized by regulation enforcement within the U.S., Poland, and Portugal.