Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced additional charges against two individuals, Michael Lauchlan and Gary Zaydman, in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency recovery scam involving their business, Coin Dispute Network (CDN). As the narrative unfolds, these men are accused of cornering desperate victims, purporting to reclaim their digital currencies - only to pilfer the fees paid for this phantom service, while piling lies upon lies, according to the D.A.'s Office.
Charged with conspiracy, identity theft, grand larceny, and additional counts, Lauchlan and Zaydman reportedly duped clients by creating a facade of a successful asset recovery operation, pulling them into a trust that was only met with deception "As alleged, these defendants conspired to use Coin Dispute Network to defraud dozens of people desperate to retrieve their cryptocurrency, and used lies and deception to steal from nine New Yorkers," stated D.A. Bragg. CDN's ruse involved falsified headquarters claims, counterfeit success rates, and fabricated tracing reports to support their operation which the prosecution – under the guidance of Assistant D.A.s Virginia Nguyen, Jeremy Glickman, and Jodie Kane – are methodically dismantling, as per the D.A.'s Office.
Between January 2022 and June 2023, the defendants allegedly employed actors for fake endorsements utilised fabricated news articles and social media personas to put forth a reputable front; however, statements from over 200 CDN customers revealed that no cryptocurrency recoveries ever materialized, which led to a blockchain analysis identifying around $14,000 in stolen digital currency, subsequently seized by the D.A.'s office spring last year.
The investigation, led by Cryptocurrency Analyst James Miller and Senior Rackets Investigators alongside other law enforcement agencies, has reached a pivotal moment where CDN's domain has been seized, heralding it as the first takedown of a cryptocurrency recovery site by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. The arrest of Lauchlan and Zaydman was facilitated by Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection, highlighting a coordinated effort to confront emerging digital crimes head-on.
