Ex-SEC chair, now heading SDNY, offers rebuke in $12M crypto fraud case
Former SEC chair Jay Clayton has released public statements on criminal cases involving crypto since becoming interim US Attorney for the Southern District of New York on April 22.
Jay Clayton, recently appointed interim US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has begun offering statements in criminal cases involving crypto fraud.
In an April 23 notice, the US Attorney’s Office said Eugene William Austin, also known as Hugh Austin, had been sentenced to 18 years in prison following his conviction on conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. Together with his son, Brandon, sentenced to four years, Austin offered fraudulent crypto investment services, resulting in roughly $12 million in losses to more than 24 people.
“For years, Hugh Austin was the leader of a fraud and money laundering scheme that stole more than $12 million from more than two dozen victims,” said Clayton. “Austin involved his own son in his crimes, working with him to rip off victims and spending investor money on personal expenses, like luxury hotels […] Austin will now be held accountable for the harm he caused to individual investors and others.”
