Miami Man Indicted on Federal Wire-Fraud Conspiracy Charges

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Rodney “Bitcoin Rodney,” Burton, 56, of Miami, Florida, and Prince George’s County, Maryland, for his role as an alleged promoter of a $1.8 billion fraud scheme. Burton is charged with 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. 

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington D.C. Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – New York.

According to court documents, from June 2020 to May 2024, Burton and his co-conspirators conspired to enrich themselves by promoting HyperFund — a purportedly legitimate investment platform — and successor platforms.  HyperFund’s promotional materials allegedly made various false claims. These falsehoods included claims that investors who purchased HyperFund “memberships” would receive between 0.5 and 1 percent daily in passive rewards until the company either doubled or tripled the investor’s initial investment.  Victims of the conspiracy included investors from Maryland.

HyperFund allegedly attempted to convince investors that the cryptocurrency platform could make such payments by claiming that it would disburse payments, in part, from its revenues from large-scale crypto-mining operations. But the truth was, HyperFund did not have such operations.  Beginning in 2021, HyperFund allegedly started blocking investor withdrawals.  The superseding indictment further alleges that Burton spent HyperFund investor proceeds on, among other things, luxury condominiums, sports cars, and a yacht.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding. 

If convicted, Burton faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and for each count of wire fraud. Additionally, Burton is facing 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering and five years in prison for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the IRS-CI and HSI-New York for their work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Spencer L. Todd and Christina A. Hoffman who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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