Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
Although bitcoin’s meteoric rise in price and prominence has some people wondering if it’s a bubble, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and CBOE Futures Exchange agreed to start trading in the digital currency in December. Just a few months later, the first criminal lawsuit over bitcoin was filed against a Chicago trader.
At 24 years old, Joseph Kim, who was working as an Assistant Trader for a Chicago firm called Consolidated Trading, was accused of stealing $2 million from his employer from September to November of 2017 – right before bitcoin became eligible for trading in the local exchanges. In fact, it may have been the preparation for trading on the exchanges that alerted the firm to Kim’s alleged illegal activity.
According to the complaint, Kim allegedly funneled millions of dollars in the form of bitcoin and Litecoin from the firm’s funds into his possession. He allegedly used the digital currency to cover his personal trading losses, then lied about the funds to cover up his illegal activities. The firm’s management discovered Kim’s alleged misappropriation of their funds and charged him with fraud.
A short hearing was recently held regarding the allegations of stolen digital funds. Kim was charged with wire fraud, but he has not yet entered a plea. His bond was set at $100,000, and if he gets released on bond, he is not allowed to travel outside of northern Illinois, except to Arizona, where he owns a home. The bond deal also prohibits him from communicating with his former co-workers. Kim agreed to all terms of the bond deal and readily surrendered his passport. Continue reading ›