Here’s something you probably don’t expect a federal prisoner to be doing from behind bars: orchestrating cryptocurrency transfers through multiple exchanges and mixing services to drain an account the government already seized.
Yet that’s exactly what prosecutors say Rossen G. Iossifov, a 53-year-old Bulgarian national, managed to pull off over the course of nearly an entire year while serving a 111-month sentence for fraud and money laundering.
The scheme inside the scheme
On July 9, US prosecutors charged Iossifov with destruction or removal of property to prevent seizure, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges stem from an alleged plot to withdraw and transfer roughly $290,000 in cryptocurrency from a Kraken account that had been court-ordered forfeited as part of his earlier conviction.
According to prosecutors, Iossifov conspired with associates between January and December 2024 to move the funds through various crypto exchanges and illicit mixing services. The proceeds were eventually converted into fiat currency and deposited into a foreign bank account.
