Bitcoin Rodney enters guilty plea in $1.8B cryptocurrency fraud scheme

Rodney Burton, popularly known as “Bitcoin Rodney,” pleaded guilty for his role in the $1.8 billion HyperFund cryptocurrency fraud in a federal court yesterday, June 16. U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes announced the guilty plea alongside Kareem Carter, the IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, and Pete Gizas, the HSI New York Special Agent in Charge.

The 56-year old Miami crypto promoter admitted to one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. 

Under the plea agreement, he admitted to running companies disguised as consulting firms but operating as unregistered money transmitters to launder HyperFund investor funds, including victims in Maryland. 

Prosecutors say he personally pocketed at least $7.85 million from the operation, according to the DOJ press release.

How exactly did the HyperFund scheme work?

HyperFund marketed itself as a legitimate crypto investment platform, promising purchasers of its “memberships” daily passive returns between 0.5% and 1% until their initial investment doubled or tripled. 

The platform told investors those returns came from revenue generated by large-scale cryptocurrency mining operations.

Those mining operations did not exist, prosecutors said.

The scheme was active from June 2020 till early 2022, according to Burton’s plea agreement. However, withdrawals started getting blocked in 2021.

A long road to the plea

Federal authorities first arrested Burton in January 2024 at Miami International Airport. He was carrying a one-way ticket to the United Arab Emirates, according to court filings. A federal judge denied bail, calling him an “extreme flight risk,” and he has remained in custody since.

The original criminal complaint in January 2024 charged Burton with two counts tied to unlicensed money transmission, each carrying up to five years in prison.

By December 2025, a federal grand jury had returned a superseding indictment with 11 counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, according to a separate DOJ press release from that month.

That expanded indictment alleged Burton spent investor money on luxury condos, sports cars, and a yacht.

The guilty plea entered Tuesday covers the conspiracy count alone, which carries a maximum sentence of five years. Sentencing is set for July 23 before U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett.

A small part of a much larger case

Burton was one of several people charged in connection with HyperFund. The platform’s alleged co-founder, Australian entrepreneur Xue “Sam Lee” Lee, was indicted in January 2024 on conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud. Lee remains at large, according to The Guardian.

Fellow promoter Brenda Chunga, who went by “Bitcoin Beautee,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud on the same day Burton was first arrested, the DOJ confirmed. The SEC filed separate civil charges against both Lee and Chunga for fraud and unregistered securities offerings.

Burton had argued in court filings that Lee constructed an “elaborate deception” that misled investors and promoters alike, according to The Guardian. Lee denied those claims, calling them “baseless.”

Federal crypto enforcement continues

The plea comes as federal agencies pursue crypto fraud on multiple fronts. The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report logged more than $11 billion in cryptocurrency losses from over 181,000 complaints, a 21% increase over the prior year, as Cryptopolitan previously reported.

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House this month would create a Federal Cryptocurrency Theft Task Force to coordinate investigations across the DOJ, FBI, DHS, and Treasury.

Burton’s sentencing will be watched closely. The five-year maximum on the conspiracy count is far below the decades he faced under the superseding indictment’s wire fraud and money laundering charges.