KuCoin Pleads Guilty to Unlicensed Money Transmission Charges, Agrees to $300 Million Settlement; Antonia Perez Hernandez Sentenced to 30 Months

Jan 27, 2025, 09:11 PM

KuCoin, a cryptocurrency exchange, has pleaded guilty to charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in the Southern District of New York. The company agreed to pay nearly $300 million in fines and forfeitures as part of the settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. This development is part of a broader legal scrutiny that began in March 2024, where the DOJ alleged that KuCoin facilitated the movement of approximately $4 billion in illicit funds. In a separate case, Antonia Perez Hernandez, a senior promoter of the Forcount Ponzi scheme, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for her role in defrauding investors of $8.4 million between 2017 and 2021. The sentencing was presided over by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.