TechFlow News, March 19: According to a report by Decrypt, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced that Bruce Choi, a 34-year-old rideshare driver and resident of Koreatown, Los Angeles, was arrested on Tuesday at San Francisco International Airport and faces federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors allege that Choi, posing as the head of a fictitious company called “Premier Republic,” submitted fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), thereby obtaining over $2 million in COVID-19 business relief funds. He then transferred the illicit proceeds into his Kraken cryptocurrency exchange account to purchase cryptocurrencies. Federal prosecutors have seized nearly 40 BTC and other cryptocurrencies. Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment, while money laundering carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.
