Florida man pleads guilty for promoting $1.8B ‘HyperFund’ crypto fraud
Rodney “Bitcoin Rodney” Burton, a 56-year-old Florida resident, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business tied to the $1.8 billion HyperFund crypto fraud. Prosecutors said he helped promote the global wire-fraud scheme between June 2020 and January 2022, using investor funds for personal gain and controlling companies that claimed to provide consulting services. He reportedly received at least $7.8 million from the operation. HyperFund falsely promised daily returns of 0.5% to 1% from nonexistent crypto-mining revenue and affected thousands of investors worldwide. The scheme was launched in 2022 after earlier rebranding and collapsed in November 2022. Burton faces up to five years in prison, with sentencing set for July 23.
