Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Counts Raise Potential Sentence to Decades
Rodney Burton, a crypto promoter widely known online as “Bitcoin Rodney”, is facing a significant escalation in federal charges tied to the collapse of the HyperFund cryptocurrency investment scheme, a case involving alleged investor losses of approximately $1.8 billion.
Federal prosecutors have filed a superseding indictment adding wire fraud conspiracy and substantive wire fraud charges to an existing case that already included allegations of money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. In total, Burton now faces 11 federal counts, dramatically increasing his potential prison exposure to several decades if convicted.
According to court filings, HyperFund also marketed as HyperVerse operated between June 2020 and May 2024, promising investors daily returns of 0.5% to 1% through supposed large-scale cryptocurrency mining. Prosecutors allege those mining operations never existed, and that withdrawals were blocked as early as 2021.
The indictment claims Burton used investor funds to purchase luxury condominiums, high-end sports cars, and a yacht. He was arrested in January 2024 while attempting to leave the United States and has remained detained after a judge labeled him an extreme flight risk.
The broader HyperFund case continues to unfold. One co-defendant has already pleaded guilty, while the alleged scheme’s founder remains at large, leaving the case as one of the most closely watched crypto fraud prosecutions in recent years.
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