From Stripe to Bitcoin: Card Fraud Case Ends in Prison Sentence

His guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering documented transfers from Stripe to accounts he controlled at HSBC, an international bank, and Evolve Federal Credit Union, a member-owned financial institution. From there, he moved a portion of the money to Coinbase.

Through crypto exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), Wadsworth purchased bitcoin and sent it to co-conspirators. These bitcoin transfers to external addresses record changes in control of funds on the network’s public ledger. Transactions in the payment-to-crypto sequence often exceeded $10,000.

Restitution and Forfeiture Follow Multiple Fraud Schemes

U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. ordered Wadsworth to pay $810,965.19 in restitution and forfeit $810,956.19 in wire fraud proceeds. His schemes from March 2020 through September 2021 involved approximately $2.06 million in combined actual and intended losses.

False applications generated $161,200 through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, which supported businesses’ operating expenses during the pandemic. Two Paycheck Protection Program loans, intended to support payroll and other eligible expenses, paid $20,833 and $20,416. He also fraudulently received approximately $65,896 in unemployment benefits.