A man already serving a federal prison sentence has been charged with allegedly stealing and laundering cryptocurrency that had been forfeited to the United States.
The Justice Department announced that Rossen G. Iossifov, a 53-year-old Bulgarian national, made an initial appearance in federal court in the Eastern District of Kentucky on charges tied to the alleged removal and transfer of forfeited cryptocurrency.
According to DOJ, Iossifov is accused of helping move approximately $290,000 in cryptocurrency that had already been seized and ordered forfeited to the United States after his 2021 conviction.
Prosecutors allege that in January 2024, while Iossifov was serving a 111-month prison sentence, he conspired to transfer the forfeited cryptocurrency through multiple exchanges and illicit mixing services to prevent the United States from taking possession of the funds.
The earlier case involved an online auction fraud scheme targeting U.S. victims. Evidence submitted at trial and sentencing showed that Iossifov had laundered nearly $5 million in cryptocurrency in less than three years.
As part of that prior case, he was ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in restitution to victims and to forfeit the cryptocurrency now at issue in the new indictment.
DOJ said Iossifov is charged with removal of property to prevent seizure and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
