[U.S. Department of Justice: Executives and Employees from Four Crypto Market-Making Firms, Including Gotbit, Indicted for Alleged Wash Trading] BlockBeats News, April 1 — The U.S. Department of Justice's Northern District of California Prosecutor's Office announced that 10 executives and employees from four crypto market-making firms have been indicted for allegedly engaging in wash trading to artificially inflate token trading volumes and prices. The firms involved include Gotbit, Vortex, Antier, and Contrarian. Three of the defendants have been extradited from Singapore to the U.S., while two others have pleaded guilty and been sentenced. In an undercover operation, the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division even created multiple crypto tokens to investigate illegal volume manipulation and pump-and-dump schemes within the industry. Over $1 million in crypto assets have been seized to date.