Reginald Fowler, one of the co-founders of Crypto Capital, has refused to enter into a plea deal with the United States prosecutors.
Reported by Bloomberg, the deal fell through due to a disagreement between the prosecutors and the defense lawyers as the former was asking the defendant to forfeit as much as $371 million held in more than 50 accounts.
The US authorities arrested Fowler earlier this year for his involvement in running a shadow banking service for crypto businesses.
He was charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud along with charges for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy.
Last month, talks began for a plea deal for at least one count of charges against the defendant. His hearing was scheduled for January 10, however, a delay in any conclusion forced the hearing till April.
In a letter to the judge, prosecutors noted: "On Thursday, Mr. Fowler rejected the current plea offer, and the Government has formally withdrawn that offer; thus, the parties anticipate the case proceeding to trial as scheduled on April 28, 2020."
"Although the Court set a schedule for motions in limine in advance of trial, a motion schedule for general pretrial motions has not been set; thus, the parties will confer and submit a joint letter within the next week proposing a schedule for the Court's consideration."
Banking services to crypto exchanges
The charges against Fowler detailed that he and his partner took money from crypto clients and processed hundreds of millions through US banks and lied about the origin of the money.
Similar charges were brought against Ravid Yosef, the other co-founder of Crypto Capital and Fowler's business partner, however, she is still at large.
Meanwhile, the counsel of QuadrigaCX's victims is also seeking an investigation to look for links between Crypto Capital and the now-defunct exchange.
