After years of flashy promises and big talk, self-proclaimed crypto innovator Rowland Marcus Andrade‘s digital house of cards has finally collapsed. The 47-year-old Texan founder of AML Bitcoin was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering by a federal jury in Northern California on March 12, 2025.
Five weeks of trial. One guilty verdict. Turns out, his “revolutionary” cryptocurrency wasn’t so revolutionary after all.
After all the hype, Andrade’s digital revolution ended with a thud and a pair of handcuffs.
Andrade ran a classic scam during his 2017-2018 initial coin offering. He claimed AML Bitcoin featured fancy biometric technologies preventing money laundering. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. He bragged about partnerships with the Panama Canal Authority. Also fake. He promised compliance with financial regulations. Yeah, that was a lie too.
Where did all that investor money go? Right into Andrade’s pockets. He siphoned off over $2 million to fund his extravagant lifestyle—two Texas properties, luxury vehicles, the works. The guy literally laundered money while promoting a supposedly anti-money laundering cryptocurrency. Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins that maintain value through legitimate collateral, Andrade’s tokens were backed by nothing but empty promises. The irony is rich, unlike most of his investors now.
Since his initial charges in June 2020, Andrade has been free on a $75,000 bond with travel restrictions. That freedom has an expiration date now. He’s staring down a maximum of 20 years for wire fraud and another 10 for money laundering.
Sentencing is set for July 22, 2025. The feds aren’t done either—they’re coming for his assets through forfeiture.
This case wasn’t just a one-off. It represents the culmination of efforts by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation unit to tackle crypto fraud. Acting US Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and law enforcement officials have made it clear: crypto isn’t the Wild West anymore. IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Linda Nguyen emphasized that Andrade’s money laundering tactics were nothing new to their experienced financial crime specialists.
This conviction comes alongside a parallel SEC civil case against Andrade that had been stayed pending the outcome of his criminal trial.
For investors in the cryptocurrency space, Andrade’s conviction serves as a stark reminder. All that glitters in the digital world isn’t bitcoin. Sometimes it’s just fool’s gold peddled by a Texas con man with a fancy website and empty promises.
