Ex-NFL owner Reggier Fowler sentenced 6 years in jail over crypto ‘shadow banking’
Former NFL team owner Reggie Fowler has been handed a six-year prison sentence for his involvement in crypto “shadow banking.”
Former NFL team owner Reggie Fowler has been handed a six-year prison sentence for his involvement in crypto “shadow banking.”
Over 10 months in 2018, Fowler, aged 63 and once a co-owner of the Minnesota Vikings, orchestrated more than $700 million in unregulated transactions within the crypto sector.
The United States Attorney’s Office in New York announced his sentencing on June 5, marking the conclusion of a protracted five-year legal battle that began with Fowler’s arrest in 2019 on allegations of shadow banking.
This term refers to bank-like activities conducted by non-bank entities, often unlawfully.
Initially pleading not guilty to all charges in 2020, Fowler later changed his plea to guilty in April 2022. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, in a recent statement, highlighted the series of falsehoods employed by Fowler to deceive and mislead multiple banks.
Williams stated, “Reginald Fowler evaded federal law by processing hundreds of millions of dollars of unregulated transactions on behalf of cryptocurrency exchanges as a shadow bank. He lied to legitimate U.S. financial institutions, which exposed the U.S. financial system to serious risk.”
Williams further emphasized Fowler’s victimization of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), a former professional football league, by misrepresenting personal wealth to acquire a significant stake in the league.
The federal prosecutor made it abundantly clear that his office is committed to prosecuting individuals who engage in fraudulent practices, deceiving banks, and bypassing the law to further their business objectives.
Williams said Fowler executed his illicit activities by establishing Global Trading Solutions (GTS) around February 2018, collaborating with Crypto Capital and other Israeli-based crypto firms.
Through deceitful tactics, Fowler, GTS, and the crypto firms avoided obtaining the necessary licenses and opened numerous accounts within banks to process crypto transactions, unbeknownst to the financial institutions. Additionally, Fowler failed to disclose GTS’s association with the crypto firms.
Williams stated, “At no point were Fowler, GTS, nor any of the Crypto Companies ever licensed as a money transmitting business in the United States, as required by federal law.”
One of the implicated crypto firms was iFinex Inc, the parent company of Bitfinex, a prominent crypto exchange, and Tether, a leading stablecoin issuer.
Fowler’s convictions also include bank fraud conspiracy, operation of an unlicensed money-transmitting business, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and wire fraud.
Besides the prison term, Fowler has been ordered to forfeit $740 million and provide over $53 million in restitution to the AAF.
This significant ruling sends a strong message that deceptive practices and illicit operations within the crypto industry will be met with severe consequences.
