US charges Rossen Iossifov with laundering $290K from Kraken account while already serving prison sentence
The convicted money launderer allegedly moved forfeited crypto through mixers and exchanges during 2024, while serving a 111-month sentence for a prior $5 million laundering scheme
A man already sitting in federal prison for laundering millions in Bitcoin allegedly decided that wasn’t enough. US prosecutors have indicted Rossen G. Iossifov on new charges for allegedly moving roughly $290,000 in crypto from a seized Kraken account, all while serving a sentence for his previous conviction.
The Department of Justice announced the indictment on July 9, with prosecutors in the Eastern District of Kentucky laying out charges including conspiracy to commit money laundering, destruction or removal of property to prevent seizure, and aiding and abetting. If convicted, the 53-year-old former Bulgarian national faces up to 25 additional years behind bars.
From prison cell to crypto transfers
According to the indictment, between January and December 2024, approximately $290,000 in crypto assets were transferred out of a Kraken account that had been subject to forfeiture orders. The funds were allegedly routed through various exchanges and mixers, the crypto equivalent of running cash through a maze of shell companies to make it untraceable.
The indictment includes aiding and abetting charges, suggesting he didn’t act alone. The US Secret Service and DOJ are handling the investigation.
A familiar face in crypto crime circles
Iossifov is not new to the federal justice system. His original conviction came after a two-week trial in September 2020, resulting in a 111-month prison sentence, which works out to just over nine years.
Iossifov ran RG Coins, a Bitcoin exchange based in Bulgaria that prosecutors said served as the financial plumbing for an international fraud operation. The scheme targeted online auction platforms, duping over 900 American victims out of more than $7 million through fake listings and fraudulent sales.
Iossifov’s role was the money side. He allegedly laundered nearly $5 million, primarily in Bitcoin, converting the proceeds of the scam into harder-to-trace digital assets through his exchange.
His January 2021 sentencing included sizable restitution and forfeiture orders on top of the prison time. Those forfeiture orders are exactly what make the new charges so notable. The seized Kraken account was part of the government’s effort to claw back illicit proceeds, and the alleged transfers represent a direct challenge to that process.