Rodney Burton, a 56-year-old Miami-based cryptocurrency promoter known online as "Bitcoin Rodney," is facing a significantly expanded federal indictment for his alleged role in the $1.8 billion HyperFund cryptocurrency scam. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland, a superseding indictment filed on Friday charges Burton with 11 federal counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
This represents a major escalation from Burton's original criminal complaint filed in January 2024, which consisted of only two counts related to unlicensed money transmission, each carrying a maximum five-year sentence. If convicted on all new counts, Burton now faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy and each wire fraud count, plus 10 years for each money laundering count and five years for the unlicensed money transmission charge.
Burton was arrested in January 2024 at Miami International Airport while carrying a one-way ticket to the United Arab Emirates. A federal judge has denied his bail request, deeming him an "extreme flight risk," and he has remained in detention since.
According to court documents, Burton and his co-conspirators operated HyperFund (also known as HyperVerse) from June 2020 through May 2024, presenting it as a legitimate cryptocurrency investment platform. The scheme allegedly promised investors daily returns of 0.5% to 1%, claiming the profits would come from large-scale cryptocurrency mining operations. Prosecutors assert these mining operations did not exist and that the scheme was a facade. Beginning in 2021, HyperFund started blocking investor withdrawals.
The superseding indictment alleges Burton spent investor proceeds on a luxury lifestyle, including condominiums, sports cars, and a yacht. His trial is scheduled for March of next year.
Burton maintained a high-profile presence in the crypto community, hosting a 2021 Miami event featuring Shark Tank's Daymond John and singer Akon, and making regular social media appearances with celebrities like Jamie Foxx and Rick Ross. Court documents also note a prior conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
In recent court filings, Burton claimed he believed he was running a legitimate business. He alleged that co-founder and Australian entrepreneur Xue Lee (Sam Lee) constructed an "elaborate deception" that misled both investors and Burton himself. Lee and promoter Brenda "Bitcoin Beautee" Chunga were charged with fraud and unregistered security offerings by the SEC in January 2024. Chunga has pleaded guilty, while Lee remains at large.
The news comes amid a devastating year for crypto service thefts, with nearly $3 billion stolen so far in 2025, already surpassing the total for 2024. The DPRK's $1.5 billion hack of ByBit accounts for the majority of these losses. If current trends continue, stolen funds from services could eclipse $4 billion by year's end.
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