In a Baltimore federal court, Rodney Burton—known online as Bitcoin Rodney—pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business tied to the HyperFund/HyperVerse crypto fraud, a scheme prosecutors describe as part of a $1.8 billion loss.

Burton pleaded guilty on June 15, 2026, in connection with the HyperFund scheme that prosecutors say relied on celebrity associations to boost its profile.

The HyperFund operation ran roughly from mid-2020 to early 2022, promising daily returns of 0.5% to 1% and guaranteed doubling or tripling of investments through alleged crypto-mining revenues that prosecutors say did not exist.

Investigators say the scheme used multi-level marketing to recruit investors, while withdrawals were blocked starting in 2021 as the fraud collapsed.

Burton and his networks allegedly generated profits by promoting the scheme, while funds were allegedly laundered through entities that appeared as consulting firms but acted as unregistered money transmitters.

Prosecutors say Burton personally profited at least about $7.8 million from the operation, including proceeds from Maryland victims.

The case is part of a broader HyperFund investigation that also involves co-founders and other promoters; several defendants have pleaded guilty or remain at large, with parallel civil actions by the SEC and DOJ.

The guilty plea covers a single conspiracy count, carrying a maximum five-year sentence, with sentencing scheduled for July 23 in Maryland.

HyperFund was a $1.8 billion crypto fraud scheme, one of the largest such prosecutions in U.S. history, underscoring criminal liability for promoters of fraudulent crypto schemes.

The case reflects intensified federal scrutiny of crypto-promotional fraud and signals broader enforcement against promotion-driven schemes in the crypto space.

Burton was arrested at Miami International Airport in January 2024 while attempting to flee to the UAE and remains jailed pending sentencing.

Authorities describe HyperFund as a sweeping wire-fraud operation targeting investors worldwide, with activities centered around mid-2020 to early 2022.