The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 59-year-old Venezuelan national Jorge Figueira with conspiring to launder approximately $1 billion in illicit funds through a sophisticated network involving cryptocurrency exchanges, private wallets, and shell companies. The case, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleges Figueira orchestrated a multi-step process to move money across borders while obscuring its origins.
According to court documents, the scheme involved converting illicit funds into cryptocurrency and routing them through a layered sequence of digital wallets. The crypto assets were then sent to liquidity providers to be converted back into U.S. dollars, which were subsequently deposited into bank accounts controlled by Figueira before being transferred to final recipients. Prosecutors state that funds moved in and out of the United States, with outbound transfers directed to "high-risk" jurisdictions including Colombia, China, Panama, and Mexico.
FBI special agent Reid Davis emphasized the scale of the operation, stating Figueira "sought to conceal the nature of the funds, potentially facilitating criminal activity in numerous countries." U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan warned that money laundering at this volume enables transnational criminal organizations to operate and expand, posing substantial risks to public safety.
The case emerges against a backdrop of surging illicit crypto activity. A recent Chainalysis report indicates illicit addresses received at least $154 billion in 2025, a 162% increase from 2024. Stablecoins have become the preferred asset for illicit finance, accounting for 84% of all illicit transaction volume in 2025, a dramatic reversal from 2020 when Bitcoin dominated. In a related development, Tether (USDT) recently froze over $180 million in a single day due to suspicious activity on Tron-based wallets, highlighting increased coordination between law enforcement and stablecoin issuers.
If convicted, Figueira faces up to 20 years in federal prison. The investigation was supported by the FBI.
