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The founder of NoOnes, Ray Youssef, is being investigated by the US Department of Justice. The investigation focuses on allegations that Youssef’s cryptocurrency exchange, Paxful, operated without a proper license and failed to implement effective anti-money laundering controls before shutting down in 2025.
Prosecutors also alleged that Paxful facilitated transactions related to illegal activity, including payments related to commercial sex advertising platforms. Youssef denied these accusations, arguing that this move represents a further continuation of the war on digital currencies.
Prosecutors point to years of gaps in compliance
Federal prosecutors filed charges against Youssef in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. The indictment focuses on his role as co-founder and former CEO of Paxful.
According to court documents obtained by BeInCrypto, the plaintiffs claimed that Paxful was missing To know enough about your customer procedures and impactful internal compliance checks. Authorities also said the platform did not file suspicious activity reports in a timely manner as required by federal law.
Authorities also alleged that Paxful facilitated transactions associated with illegal electronic businesses, including commercial sex advertising platforms.
The prosecution pointed out To Bitcoin transfers Specific, dated content that prosecutors say was sent by Paxful’s governor to addresses linked to BackPage, an online platform accused of facilitating illegal commercial sex ads.
Youssef strongly rejected the accusations in a series of social media posts.
Youssef publicly denies the criminal charges
In a video uploaded to his account He was then arrested and sent to a prison in Santa Ana until a judge ordered his release on probation after his accusation. Until the case is resolved, Youssef cannot leave the United States.
Youssef called the accusations “false” and stated that the case is largely based on Bitcoin transactions worth about $240.
According to the indictment, Paxful inserted a “Pay with Paxful” button directly on BackPage, which allows users to buy Bitcoin via Paxful and use it to pay for ads on the site.
He added that undercover federal agents opened Paxful accounts and successfully completed these transactions, which prosecutors cited as evidence that the payment system facilitated business-related activity.
For Joseph, This situation strengthened his belief The war on digital currencies has never stopped. Instead, he became more selective.
“If you are Do something symbolic like our presidentAnd retail lost a few billion, okay. If you are like CZ and sold a few hundred billion via liquidation And price manipulationIt’s good. If you steal money from retail, no one cares. Here,” Youssef said in a video on X.
The recent events come at a difficult time for Youssef’s role in several cryptocurrency projects.
Paxful will pay a fine of $1 million
Last week, NoOnes announced on social media that Youssef was no longer CEO of the company. She also explained that the legal problems she is facing today are “personal and not related” to the company’s decision.
Four days before Youssef’s indictment, Paxvall pleaded guilty on three federal criminal charges related to Backpage.
According to court documents, Paxful admitted that it conspired to promote illegal prostitution through interstate commerce, operated as an unlicensed money transfer business, and failed to enforce statutory anti-money laundering language controls.
In July 2024, it passed Co-founder of Paxful, Artur Å abac pleaded guilty to conspiracy to fail to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program in connection with the same system.
Although federal guidelines indicate a much higher penalty, Paxful will pay $4 million depending on its financial condition. The company is expected to be sentenced in February 2026.
