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The US Department of Justice is reportedly moving to drop charges against the founder of BitClub Network, a purported crypto mining platform that allegedly defrauded investors of $722 million between 2014 and 2019.<\/p>\n
A court filing shows Matthew Goettsche\u2019s attorneys wrote<\/a> to New Jersey district court Judge Claire Cecchi on Wednesday, stating that the parties \u201creached an agreement in principle\u201d to resolve the pending charges \u201cbut need time to finalize the terms.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Goettsche\u2019s attorneys’ letter to New Jersey district court Judge Claire Cecchi. Source: <\/em>Bloomberg Law<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n The filing came after the deputy attorney general\u2019s office in Washington reportedly ordered the New Jersey attorney general\u2019s office to dismiss the case against Goettsche with prejudice, according<\/a> to a report on Friday from Bloomberg Law, citing two sources familiar with the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Goettsche was indicted in December 2019 and was set to face trial in October for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and selling unregistered securities. A reversal would mark one of the more notable changes in US crypto enforcement history, particularly given that three of his former colleagues, Silviu Balaci, Joseph Abel and Gordon Beckstead, have pleaded guilty for their involvement in the scheme.<\/p>\n The potential reversal follows an April 2025 memo<\/a> from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who directed the DOJ to end its \u201cregulation by prosecution\u201d\u00a0strategy against the digital asset industry.<\/p>\n Cointelegraph reached out to the DOJ for comment but didn\u2019t receive an immediate response.<\/p>\n BitClub operated from April 2014 to December 2019, claiming to be a Bitcoin mining pool where investors could buy shares and earn passive returns. BitClub allegedly falsified earnings values to investors and fabricated mining data to entice more investors into the scheme.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>Acting AG Todd Blanche confirms \u2018code is not a crime\u2019 in DOJ pivot<\/strong><\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Past court filings show Goettsche once described<\/a> his model as one built \u201con the backs of idiots.\u201d<\/p>\n In April, California man Evan Tageman was sentenced to 70 months<\/a> in prison for his role in a criminal enterprise that stole about $263 million worth of crypto from victims through social engineering scams and burglary.\u00a0<\/p>\n The DOJ also froze over $700 million<\/a> in crypto tied to investment scammers targeting Americans in April, while in February, it seized nearly $580 million<\/a> in crypto linked to a criminal scam group operating in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\nDOJ is still taking down crypto\u2019s bad actors<\/h2>\n