PANews reported on March 16 that according to News.bitcoin, a federal jury in San Francisco found AML Bitcoin founder and CEO Rowland Marcus Andrade guilty of wire fraud and money laundering. Andrade will be sentenced on July 22, 2025. He faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud, up to 10 years in prison for money laundering, and will be confiscated of assets related to his crimes.

According to evidence presented at trial, Andrade, 47, of Texas, misappropriated more than $2 million from AML Bitcoin sales for personal expenses, including the purchase of two Texas properties and two luxury cars. He laundered investor funds through various bank accounts and then used those funds to finance his own purchases. The jury found that Andrade falsely represented that AML Bitcoin was about to receive approval from the Panama Canal Authority, when no such agreement existed. Through these false statements, he raised millions of dollars from investors.