The U.S. attorney prosecuting Shane Hvizdzak for an alleged multi-million-dollar cryptocurrency scheme is looking to seal part of his response to a recent suppression motion in the case.
On Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Trabold filed a motion to file exhibits under seal. The prosecutor’s response to Hvizdzak’s suppression motion is due April 8. Hvizdzak is seeking to suppress his statements to agents on June 17, 2020, when agents with the FBI and IRS raided his High Street home. According to Hvizdzak, the agents, who were armed, wearing helmets and carrying shields, separated him from his parents, did not inform him of his right to remain silent and proceeded to question him for four hours.
Trabold’s motion filed Tuesday indicated he intends to include as exhibits Hvizdzak’s June 17, 2020, written statement and interview with the FBI, and emails he sent to the FBI on June 23, 2020. He asked for them to remain under seal until the time of the suppression hearing, when they would be offered into evidence. He mentioned the documents are “replete with sensitive information,” and “it is prudent for the exhibits to remain under seal” until the time of the hearing, the motion read.
The case against Shane Hvizdzak, 36, of Bradford, and his brother Sean Hvizdzak, 38, of St. Marys, was based on an investigation by the FBI and IRS. The brothers are also facing a civil suit from the Securities and Exchange Commission, all alleging the pair were operating a cryptocurrency hedge fund scheme, bilking investors out of approximately $31 million, saying it was being invested in digital assets and fabricating statements saying the investments were earning huge returns. The two allegedly put the assets in their personal accounts and moved them outside the U.S.
Shane Hvizdzak is represented by John A. Schwab and Jennifer Bouriat, both of Pittsburgh, who were appointed in January 2023. Sean Hvizdzak is represented by attorney David Berardinelli of Pittsburgh.
