DOJ seeks $23 million code confiscation after Gotbit's guilty plea

Table of Contents

The fake trading bot, manipulated token prices, and $23 million Sied Crypto highlight the DOJ’s drastic crackdown on fraud and deceptive digital market practices.

DOJ’s target will acquire GOTBIT with $23 million crypto market manipulation crackdown

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on March 27 that it is pursuing civil forfeiture of approximately $23 million in digital assets following a guilty plea from Gotbit Consulting LLC and its founder Aleksei Andriunin. The DOJ move follows a criminal lawsuit in which a Boston-based federal court accepts GOTBIT’s approval to manipulate trading activities on behalf of cryptocurrency clients. Operating as a market maker in the digital asset sector, the company is engaged in schemes to manufacture transaction volumes, which reportedly mislead investors about liquidity and demand.

As part of a resolution with the federal government, GOTBIT has agreed to waive any crypto-holdings related to these activities. In the announcement, DOJ said:

The government seized USDT (Tether) and USDC (Circle) from non-hosted cryptocurrency wallets controlled by GoTbit Consulting LLC. The tether and circle are stub coins. In other words, its value is tied to the US dollar.

The government argues that assets represent not only the property involved in illegal transactions, but also the proceeds of wire fraud and conspiracy. These claims are currently part of the civil forfeiture complaint and have not been awarded.

Andrinin, a 26-year-old dual citizen of Russia and Portugal, was arrested overseas in October 2024 and handed over to the US in February 2025. Prosecutors said between 2018 and 2024, GOTBIT operated a washing trading scheme using custom built software and multiple accounts, simulating trading activities and operational prices. Tokens such as Robo Inu and Saitama, one of Gotbit’s clients, are currently under separate investigations. As part of the plea agreement, GoTbit has agreed to shut down all businesses and confiscate $23 million. The DOJ stated: “According to the judicial agreement with Andrinin, the government recommends a prison sentence of up to two years.”