Rashawn Russell, a former investment banker at Deutsche Bank, was sentenced to 41 months in prison after admitting to a Ponzi-like fraud that involved promising investors guaranteed returns from cryptocurrency trading. The scheme, which ran from November 2020 to August 2022, targeted friends, former college classmates, and colleagues at Deutsche Bank. Russell claimed that he could generate 25% returns in three months and had supposedly doubled some investors' money in previous periods.
As a result of his fraudulent activities, Russell has been ordered to pay over $1.5 million in restitution to his victims. Many of his victims were people close to him, and Russell acknowledged in a letter to the sentencing judge that he deeply regretted his actions. He admitted to squandering their money to fuel a gambling and substance abuse addiction, which he described as “crippling.”
Russell pleaded guilty to wire fraud and access device fraud, and he was also accused of continuing his identity theft scheme even after his arrest. His bail was revoked, and he was sent to jail in February. In addition to the Ponzi-like fraud, prosecutors revealed that Russell had obtained numerous credit, debit, and identification cards belonging to third parties. He used this stolen information to open online gambling accounts and make fraudulent purchases.
Despite his actions, Russell expressed remorse for the harm he caused to his victims. He acknowledged that he had created victims out of his closest friends and acquaintances, and he recognized the damage he had done to their financial well-being. Russell also highlighted the extent of his addiction issues, which had led him down a destructive path of deception and fraud.
While Russell worked at Deutsche Bank from 2018 to 2021, the bank itself was not implicated in his fraudulent activities. According to court and brokerage industry records, Russell began his tenure at Deutsche Bank as an analyst and was later promoted to an associate. Despite his association with the bank, Russell's criminal behavior was entirely separate from his work at Deutsche Bank.