Bitcoin Rodney Pleads Guilty to Unlicensed Money-Transmitting Conspiracy in HyperFund Case

Rodney Burton, a promoter known as “Bitcoin Rodney,” has pleaded guilty in the HyperFund criminal case, but not to the full set of charges prosecutors laid out in a broader superseding indictment. Court records and U.S. Department of Justice materials show Burton entered a guilty plea June 15 in federal court in Maryland to a single count tied to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

The plea, entered in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, was to Count One only: conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 371. “On June 15, 2026, defendant Rodney Burton pled guilty to count one of the indictment, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business,” the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said on its case page, updated June 16. Burton’s sentencing is scheduled for July 23 at 11 a.m. before Judge Richard D. Bennett, according to the same materials and Burton’s plea filing, Document 101.

The plea comes in a case that prosecutors say involved attempted investor losses of more than $1.8 billion, though figures vary across filings. A Dec. 10, 2025, superseding indictment alleged Burton was part of a scheme that ran from June 2020 to May 2024 and sought to defraud investors of more than $1.8 billion; an earlier DOJ release put the figure at $1.89 billion, saying, “The defendants are charged with defrauding investors to the tune of $1.89 billion.” Prosecutors also alleged Burton personally received more than $9 million in payments connected to the scheme.

The broader case centers on HyperFund, also marketed under names including HyperVerse. Prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal market regulator, alleged the operation sold memberships that promised daily returns and other passive rewards tied to supposed crypto-related business activity. Authorities said those claimed sources of revenue, including large-scale cryptocurrency mining, did not exist.

The HyperFund matter was one of the larger crypto-related enforcement cases brought by U.S. authorities in early 2024. The Justice Department announced criminal charges in January 2024, while the SEC filed a civil action that same month alleging the scheme raised more than $1.7 billion globally. Other defendants publicly identified in the DOJ and SEC actions included Xue “Sam” Lee, who was charged in the earlier cases, and Brenda Indah Chunga, also known as “Bitcoin Beautee,” who previously pleaded guilty in the broader matter.

Public DOJ materials make clear Burton’s June 15 plea is narrower than the allegations in the superseding indictment. That indictment included additional charges, including wire fraud and money laundering, but the Justice Department’s case page and Burton’s plea filing say he pleaded guilty only to Count One, the conspiracy charge tied to an unlicensed money-transmitting business.