Rodney “Bitcoin Rodney” Burton has pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to a conspiracy charge tied to the $1.8 billion HyperFund cryptocurrency fraud scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. The scheme operated between June 2020 and January 2022.
Burton admitted he ran unlicensed money-transmitting services while promoting HyperFund, routing funds through companies presented as consulting firms that acted as payment intermediaries. Prosecutors said he earned at least $7.85 million from the operation. He faces up to five years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for July 23 before U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett.
Platform promises exposed as false
Authorities said HyperFund marketed membership packages that promised daily passive rewards of 0.5% to 1% until initial contributions doubled or tripled. The company claimed these returns were backed by large-scale cryptocurrency mining operations.
Investigators found no evidence such mining infrastructure existed. Withdrawal requests were suspended in 2021 as the scheme began to collapse, leaving participants unable to access funds.
Burton’s guilty plea formally confirms that the platform operated as a fund-redistribution model, where money from new participants was used to pay earlier ones, a structure commonly associated with pyramid schemes.
Broader surge in crypto-related fraud
The case comes amid a sharp rise in cryptocurrency-related fraud. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported $11.4 billion in losses in 2025, up 21% from the previous year. Authorities recorded 181,565 crypto-related complaints, with average reported losses of $62,604. Investment scams accounted for $7.2 billion across 61,559 cases.
Separate analysis from Chainalysis estimated that global losses from crypto scams reached $17 billion in 2025. The average payment per victim rose significantly, while impersonation scams surged more than 1,400%, reflecting a shift toward more sophisticated social engineering tactics.
Increased scrutiny across digital asset platforms
The enforcement action highlights a growing shift toward stricter due diligence among traders engaging with digital asset platforms. Regulators and analysts are increasingly emphasizing the importance of verifying licensing, transparency, and underlying business models.
Programs offering guaranteed or unusually high passive returns, particularly those tied to opaque crypto mining or trading operations, are facing heightened skepticism. Market participants are placing greater focus on whether platforms comply with financial regulations and can substantiate how returns are generated.
Worried about scams like HyperFund? Learn key crypto safety tips to protect your funds before investing.
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