Christopher James Scanlon, a 43-year-old businessman with business experience in the United States and the United Kingdom, faces serious charges in the United States of conspiracy to engage in an unauthorized money transfer business.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip R. Sellinger said Scanlon facilitated the transfer of funds for wealthy clients without a license through entities associated with his luxury lifestyle brand. Scanlon was arrested at Miami International Airport and is expected to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Aurae Lifestyle, partnership for financial transactions funded through Club Swann
According to the charges, Scanlon, founder and CEO of Aurae Lifestyle and its brand Club Swann, used several affiliated and connected forms to offer unregistered financial services and products. These companies are also known as AU Entities and have been in business since at least 2015.
The AU company offered customers both traditional and cryptocurrency services available without requiring enhanced federal registration to transfer money.
Some say Scanlon coordinated transactions via encrypted messages for unregistered cross-border transactions involving U.S.-based banks or cryptocurrency companies. Some of his clients, insiders claim, are elite and include high net worth individuals, most of whom have sought his services for fiat and cryptocurrency businesses.
Legal implications and possibilities of sanctions
The conspiracy charge Scanlon faces could have a variety of consequences in the form of up to five years in prison as well as fines of up to $250,000, or twice the amount of losses resulting from Scanlon’s alleged scheme.
Scanlon’s arrest is another link to a stronger focus on unlicensed cryptocurrency-related companies from the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies.
This is one of the examples showing the vulnerability of unregistered cryptocurrency financial services, and authorities are emphasizing the need for regulation to maintain financial system stability.