A 73-Year-Old Montana Man Convicted by Jury for Cryptocurrency Money Laundering

On February 27th, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement stating that a man from Montana has been convicted of a cryptocurrency money laundering conspiracy. Randall V. Rule, 73 years old and formerly from Kalispell, Montana, was found guilty on all charges by the jury after a three-day trial presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle on February 26, 2025. Acting U.S. Attorney McGlothin said, "We will not remain idle as our citizens become victims of financial crimes and have their savings stolen. We will actively prosecute those fraudsters as well as those who assist them through the laundering of criminal proceeds." On November 16, 2022, Rule and Gregory C. Nysewander from Elmore, South Carolina, were indicted by a federal grand jury, accused of participating in a money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, and conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act. According to the indictment, Rule and Nysewander are accused of conspiring with others to profit from cryptocurrency money laundering wire fraud. The defendants converted funds from romance scams, business email compromise, real estate fraud, and other fraudulent schemes into cryptocurrency and transferred these cryptocurrencies to accounts controlled by co-conspirators both domestically and abroad. The defendants and their co-conspirators made false statements and omissions to disguise the fraudulent nature of these deposits, wire transfers, and transactions, such as directing co-conspirators and victims to label wire transfers as "loan repayment" and "advertising fees." The defendants also made false statements and omissions when completing account opening documents and communicating with financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges. During the conspiracy, Rule, Nysewander, and their co-conspirators laundered more than $2.4 million.