Picture this, you’re sitting in the break room, clutching your coffee. But suddenly Bob from accounting swoops in, gushing about some shiny new coin, promising to revolutionize work as we know it.
The word „revolutionize” itself should raise red flags, just saying. But that’s how Rowland Marcus Andrade pitched AML Bitcoin.
Only this story? It don’t end with Bob riding off into a crypto sunset, it ends with Andrade heading to prison for seven years for fraud and money laundering, and a cool $10 million of investor dreams going up in smoke.
Deception
It started like every classic once upon a time in the brave new world of crypto.
Andrade strutted onto the scene, touting AML Bitcoin as the next big thing, especially for those itching for some legit, anti-money laundering sparkle.
Rowland Andrade, founder of AML Bitcoin, was sentenced to 84 months in prison for making false representations to investors that netted him $10 million in fraudulent proceeds.
Click below to read more about this #IRSCI Oakland field office case. pic.twitter.com/ppkUNmwwG2
— IRS Criminal Investigation (@IRS_CI) July 29, 2025
Office people, crypto buffs, even your neighbor who still brags about investing early in Dogecoin bought in.
Andrade wasn’t shy, he told investors the coin was tech-packed and on the brink of blockbuster government deals, dropping names like the Panama Canal Authority as if he had lunch with their board. Plot twist, none of that was true.
Behind the smoke and mirrors, Andrade was running, in Judge Seeborg’s words, a sophisticated fraud scheme.
He scooped up $10 million from hopeful investors, using more than $2 million of that to pad his lifestyle, hello, luxury cars, goodbye, hard-earned savings.
Instead of building world-changing technology, he built himself a personal empire, then tried to cover it up with one tall tale after another.
Behind bars
Oh, and for fans of political intrigue? Andrade’s scheme got help from notorious lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Abramoff was ordered to cough up $55,000 for his role shilling the coin and got banned from securities for life.
It’s like the worst episode of “The Office” merged with “Better Call Saul”.
When the law finally knocked, prosecutors wanted Andrade behind bars for over 17 years.
He tried pleading for two. The final verdict, seven years locked up, not the supervised release his lawyers begged for, but also not quite the epic sentence the feds dreamed of.
Restitution
Andrade now has to give up whatever assets he snatched through the scam, with a special court meeting in September to figure out how victims might get some restitution.
Once he’s out, he’ll be checking in with police for three years, probably with a lot less swagger.
If your coworker pitches the next Bitcoin at lunch, maybe just ask, does it come with a free pair of handcuffs?
The crypto world’s full of innovation, but as this story proves again, sometimes the only thing going to the moon is your money, straight into someone else’s pocket.
