On July 28, 2026, the SEC filed a proposed final judgment against Gotbit Consulting LLC, seeking to resolve civil fraud and market manipulation claims tied to an alleged wash trading scheme involving the Robo Inu token. In a parallel criminal case, Gotbit’s founder and CEO Aleksei Andriunin pleaded guilty to wire fraud and market manipulation charges, and was sentenced to eight months in federal prison.
According to federal prosecutors, the firm spent years generating artificial trading volume on behalf of client cryptocurrency companies, including Robo Inu and Saitama, creating a false picture of market demand that real investors relied on. If a licensed broker, financial advisor, or regulated platform was involved in your purchase of Robo Inu, Saitama, or similar tokens during the period of alleged manipulation, an experienced cryptocurrency attorney may be able to help.
The Criminal Case Against Gotbit and Aleksei Andriunin
The DOJ and SEC enforcement actions against Gotbit Consulting LLC, also known as Gotbit Hedge Fund, and its founder and CEO Aleksei Andriunin stem from charges filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The timeline of events spans more than 20 months across parallel civil and criminal proceedings. Directors Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili were also charged in the criminal case and their proceedings remain pending.
- August 3, 2026: The SEC issued SEC Litigation Release No. 26598 in SEC v. Gotbit Consulting LLC announcing the proposed settlement terms.
- July 28, 2026: The SEC filed a proposed final judgment against Gotbit Consulting LLC in the civil case, subject to court approval.
- June 16, 2025: U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley sentenced Aleksei Andriunin to eight months in federal prison and one year of supervised release. The court also ordered Gotbit to forfeit the approximately $22.8 million in seized cryptocurrency as agreed in the plea. Gotbit was the third crypto market maker to resolve criminal charges in connection with the broader DOJ wash-trading crackdown, following MyTrade in October 2024 and CLS Global in January 2025.
- March 21, 2025: Gotbit Consulting LLC and its founder and CEO, Aleksei Andriunin, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud. Andriunin had been arrested in Portugal on October 8, 2024 and extradited to the United States on February 25, 2025. As part of the criminal resolution, Gotbit agreed to cease all operations and forfeit approximately $22.8 million in seized cryptocurrency. The government agreed to recommend a sentence of up to two years in prison for Andriunin.
- October 9, 2024: The SEC filed its original complaint charging Belize-based Gotbit Consulting LLC and Fedor Kedrov with fraud for allegedly manipulating the market for the Robo Inu crypto asset. The complaint was part of a broader sweep of crypto wash-trading and market-manipulation cases announced by the SEC’s cyber, crypto assets, and emerging technology unit.
According to the Department of Justice, between 2018 and 2024 Gotbit provided market manipulation services to create artificial trading volume for multiple cryptocurrency companies, including companies located in the United States. Gotbit admitted in connection with its plea that it engaged in manipulative trades to artificially increase the trading price and volume of tokens for clients that included Robo Inu and Saitama. Leaders of those cryptocurrency companies were charged in separate cases.
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The SEC Civil Enforcement Action and Proposed Final Judgment
In parallel with the DOJ’s criminal proceedings, the SEC brought its own civil enforcement action against Gotbit focusing on the Robo Inu token specifically. The SEC’s October 9, 2024 complaint, filed simultaneously with the DOJ’s criminal charges, targeted Gotbit and director Fedor Kedrov specifically over the Robo Inu token. Civil proceedings then continued on a separate track through 2026.
- July 28, 2026: The SEC filed a proposed final judgment against Gotbit Consulting LLC in the civil case, subject to court approval.
- August 3, 2026: The SEC issued SEC Litigation Release No. 26598 in SEC v. Gotbit Consulting LLC announcing the proposed settlement terms.
According to the SEC’s filings, Gotbit allegedly carried out the scheme through wash trading, generating coordinated self-trades with no genuine economic purpose to artificially inflate the Robo Inu token’s apparent trading volume and attract unsuspecting investors. The SEC treated Robo Inu as a security offered and sold pursuant to an investment contract, which allowed it to bring charges under both the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.
Under the proposed civil judgment, Gotbit has consented to permanent injunctions barring violations of Securities Act Sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(3), Exchange Act Sections 9(a)(2) and 10(b), and Rule 10b-5(a) and (c), and would be permanently barred from participating in any issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any securities. The SEC has indicated it would dismiss its civil claims against Fedor Kedrov if the proposed judgment is approved.
How Meyer Wilson Werning Can Help
The Gotbit case makes one thing clear, which is that crypto markets are not beyond the reach of federal law, and the investors who traded tokens on manipulated data are not without options. A guilty plea, a federal prison sentence, and an SEC civil judgment against the firm responsible do not close the door for individual recovery. For investors who relied on artificial volume to make real financial decisions, the question worth asking is not whether fraud occurred. Regulators have already answered that. The question is who else in the chain bears responsibility for what you lost.
With more than $350 million recovered for investors nationwide since 1999, Meyer Wilson Werning has spent over 25 years holding financial institutions accountable for misconduct, whether it occurs in a traditional brokerage account or a digital asset market. If a licensed broker, financial advisor, or regulated platform was involved in your purchase of Robo Inu, Saitama, or similar tokens during the period of alleged manipulation, contact us today for a free and confidential consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover for you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What did the SEC allege Gotbit Consulting LLC did in the Robo Inu case?
In its October 9, 2024 complaint, the SEC alleged that Gotbit Consulting LLC engaged in a scheme to manipulate the market for Robo Inu, a crypto asset offered and sold pursuant to an investment contract, by generating artificial trading volume. According to the SEC, Gotbit accomplished this through self-trading (also referred to as wash trading) and other trading practices designed to create the appearance of liquidity without any genuine economic purpose.
What is wash trading, and why did it matter in this enforcement action?
Wash trading refers to buying and selling the same asset through coordinated or self-directed trades that create artificial volume or price movements without genuine market activity. In the Gotbit case, the SEC alleged that this practice violated anti-fraud and market-manipulation provisions of federal securities laws because it misled investors about the true level of interest and activity in the Robo Inu token.
What does the proposed SEC judgment require Gotbit to do?
According to SEC Litigation Release No. 26598, the proposed final judgment would permanently enjoin Gotbit from violating several provisions of the Securities Act and Exchange Act. It would also permanently bar Gotbit from participating, directly or indirectly, in any issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any securities. The publicly described terms focus on injunctive relief and the activity bar rather than specifying a civil penalty or disgorgement figure.
What happened to Gotbit’s founder in the parallel criminal case?
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts reported that the firm and its founder were sentenced for market manipulation. On March 21, 2025, Aleksei Andriunin, Gotbit’s founder and CEO, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud. On June 16, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley sentenced him to eight months in federal prison and one year of supervised release. Gotbit was also ordered to forfeit approximately $22.8 million in seized cryptocurrency and agreed to cease all operations. The SEC pursued its separate civil enforcement action in parallel.
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