For seven years, federal prosecutors built a case against Matthew Goettsche, the man they called the mastermind behind BitClub Network, one of the largest crypto frauds of the past decade. The trial was days away. Then the Justice Department decided to drop it.
BitClub marketed itself as a bitcoin mining pool: investors paid in for a share of mining profits from the company's supposed computing power. Prosecutors say most of that mining never happened. New investors' money paid out old ones, and profit reports were largely fabricated after the fact. The alleged total take: $722 million from investors around the world.
Goettsche was indicted back in 2019 on conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to sell unregistered securities. Three co-defendants already pleaded guilty, including Joseph Frank Abel, who admitted in 2020 to selling unregistered securities tied to the scheme. One court filing quotes Goettsche describing his business model in blunter terms: built, he said, "on the backs of idiots."
According to Bloomberg Law, the order to dismiss came from the deputy attorney general's office in Washington, which directed the New Jersey US attorney handling the case to drop it — with prejudice, meaning prosecutors can't refile the same charges later. Shortly before that, Goettsche's defense team added lawyers with direct ties to Trump's orbit: Bradford Cohen, a lawyer and former contestant on The Apprentice, and Brett Tolman, who specializes in securing presidential pardons.
The department has called this routine housekeeping — clearing out cases that have dragged on for years. But the timing, coming right after lobbying from Trump-connected lawyers, has raised questions among former prosecutors about political influence over charging decisions. Whatever happens next, the money BitClub investors lost isn't coming back through this prosecution — dropping the charges doesn't restore anyone's funds.
