Rodney Burton, the flashy Miami promoter better known online as “Bitcoin Rodney,” has admitted his role in what prosecutors say was a sprawling HyperFund operation that siphoned about $1.8 billion from investors around the globe. The guilty plea, entered this week in federal court in Baltimore, marks a major turn in a case investigators have likened to some of the largest crypto frauds on record.
What happened in court
Burton, 56, pleaded guilty to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and now faces up to five years in prison on that charge, with sentencing set for July 23, 2026, according to Decrypt. The plea followed a multi-agency probe by IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations and was detailed in filings in the U.S. District Court in Maryland.
How HyperFund allegedly worked
According to prosecutors and court records, HyperFund sold tiered “memberships” that dangled daily passive returns of roughly 0.5% to 1%. Promotional materials told investors those payouts were fueled by massive crypto-mining operations, but investigators say those mines never existed. The platform started blocking withdrawals in 2021, then later shut down entirely as the scheme unraveled in late 2022, according to reporting and case documents summarized by OCCRP.
Court filings and alleged take
Federal investigators say Burton did very well for himself while the money was flowing. Criminal complaints and affidavits filed in the case state that between June 2020 and January 2022 he received 562 wire transfers or cashier’s checks from investors, totaling $7,851,711. Those funds, according to the filings, were funneled through companies he controlled that were never registered with FinCEN as money transmitters.
The same records describe how investor cash was converted into HyperFund platform tokens and used to pay earlier members, even as new money came in, echoing classic Ponzi mechanics dressed in crypto jargon. The affidavit detailing those allegations is part of the public court file, according to a filing cited by the DOJ.
Legal fallout and co-defendants
Burton’s plea resolves the specific count accusing him of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. It does not make the rest of the case disappear. A grand jury returned a superseding indictment in December 2025 that added charges including wire-fraud conspiracy and money-laundering, offenses that carry far steeper penalties if prosecutors ultimately prove them at trial, according to court records reported on CaseMine.
He is not the only one in the government’s sights. Co-defendant Brenda Chunga has already pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing on June 29, while alleged co-founder Sam Lee remains at large, according to reporting and court filings summarized by Blockonomi.
Why this matters
The HyperFund saga sits squarely in a growing federal crackdown on crypto ventures that lean on flashy marketing and community hype while allegedly running old-school Ponzi plays behind the scenes. For investors from the United States to overseas markets, the collapse has meant frozen accounts, vanished balances, and a long road to trying to recoup losses, if they can be traced at all.
Victims and anyone with information about HyperFund are being directed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Maryland for guidance, including victim assistance contacts tied to the case, according to the agency’s publicly available materials on the investigation. Those resources are listed on the HyperFund case page maintained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
