Florida Man Pleads Guilty in $1.8 Billion HyperFund Crypto Fraud

HyperFund presented itself as a cryptocurrency investment platform from June 2020 to January 2022, claiming that a large-scale mining operation funded daily passive returns of 0.5% to 1% until investors doubled or tripled their principal. Prosecutors said no such operation existed and that the platform began blocking withdrawals in 2021. Investors worldwide put in a total of $1.8 billion, underscoring the risks of Ponzi schemes marketed with promises of high returns.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced on June 17, 2026, that Rodney Burton, a 56-year-old Florida man known as “Bitcoin Rodney,” had pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He personally received at least $7,851,711 and faces up to five years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for July 23, 2026.