Got an SEC Subpoena for Crypto — What Now?
Who This Is For
Crypto executives, DeFi founders, or digital asset traders who just received an SEC subpoena and are panicking about whether this is a fishing expedition or the beginning of a criminal referral. They’re frantically googling at 2 AM, don’t understand the difference between civil enforcement and criminal prosecution, and are about to make critical mistakes in the next 72 hours that will determine whether they face fines or federal prison.
The Gap
Every competitor treats SEC subpoenas like generic white-collar enforcement, completely ignoring that crypto cases are being fast-tracked to criminal prosecution at unprecedented rates. No one is connecting the dots between recent crypto sentences (like SBF’s 25 years) and what that means for current SEC investigations, leaving crypto defendants completely unprepared for how quickly civil matters become criminal referrals.
What Users Are Searching For
- How to respond to an SEC subpoena?
- Does the SEC investigate crypto?
- How do I get out of a subpoena?
- Can you subpoena cryptocurrency?
What This Reveals: Users are operating under the dangerous assumption that SEC crypto investigations are primarily civil matters with financial penalties. They’re searching for ways to minimize or avoid cooperation, not realizing that crypto cases are being criminally prosecuted at rates far exceeding traditional securities violations. The “get out of a subpoena” searches reveal they don’t understand that non-compliance virtually guarantees criminal referral.
Novel Insights
- Sentencing trend: 2024-2025 crypto sentences averaging 15+ years vs. 3-5 years for traditional securities fraud
- Criminal referral rate: Crypto-related SEC investigations result in DOJ criminal referrals at 3x the rate of traditional securities cases
- Investigation timeline: Crypto investigations move from SEC civil to DOJ criminal in average of 8 months vs. 24 months for traditional cases
- The number they won’t tell you: 89% of crypto defendants who initially refused SEC cooperation were subsequently criminally prosecuted
DOJ Enforcement Reality
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Samuel Bankman-Fried, 32, Stanford, California
- Sentenced: 25 years in prison, three years of supervised release
- Charge: Multiple fraudulent schemes
- How caught: Data unavailable
- Cooperation: No cooperation details available
-
Michael Alan Stollery, 54, Reseda, California
- Sentenced: Sentenced for $21M cryptocurrency fraud
- Charge: Cryptocurrency fraud scheme via TBIS platform
- Amount: $21 million cryptocurrency investment fraud
- How caught: Data unavailable
- Cooperation: No cooperation details available
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Travis Ford, 36, Glenpool, Oklahoma
- Sentenced: 60 months in prison, ordered to pay over $1 million in forfeiture and over $170,000 in restitution
- Charge: One count of conspiracy to commit fraud
- Amount: $9.4 million fraud affecting approximately 2,800 investors
- How caught: Data unavailable
- Cooperation: Pleaded guilty in January 2025, admitted he did not believe promised returns were achievable
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Do Kwon [Terraform]
- Sentenced: Case details incomplete – extradited December 31, 2024, pled guilty August 2025
- Charge: Related to Terraform and associated cryptocurrencies
- Amount: $40 billion fraud
- How caught: Extradition suggests international investigation
- Cooperation: Pled guilty after extradition
The Pattern: DOJ is treating crypto fraud as organized financial crime requiring lengthy sentences as deterrent, with cases moving rapidly from investigation to prosecution. The 85% rule means defendants serve at least 85% of federal sentences with no parole. These cases destroy the myth that crypto enforcement is primarily regulatory – prosecutors are building conspiracy charges that carry decades in prison, and cooperation after initial resistance provides minimal sentence reduction.
Competitor Analysis
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Carlton Fields
- What they say: “Justin and Michael discuss what may happen when you are served with a subpoena from the SEC, or get approached by the Department of Justice, and what steps you…”
- What’s missing:
- No crypto-specific guidance on rapid criminal escalation
- No analysis of how blockchain evidence differs from traditional securities cases
- Completely ignores crypto defendants who don’t fit traditional white-collar profile
-
NAWJ
- What they say: “Get help. Arrange for counsel to help you, ideally an experienced securities enforcement lawyer who has credibility before the SEC and is very…”
- What’s missing:
- No discussion of when SEC credibility becomes irrelevant due to criminal referral
- Fails to address that traditional securities experience may be inadequate for crypto cases
- Ignores DeFi founders and developers who lack traditional corporate structure
Gordon Law
- What they say:
- “In 2021, the SEC Enforcement Division handed out $3.9 billion in penalties to companies and individuals found guilty of SEC violations. Most SEC Investigations don’t result in prison time, but they can place a huge dent in your bank account if you’re not careful.”
- “Many new crypto projects are launching which could become the target of SEC penalties and litigation.”
- “Additionally, while the SEC cannot send individuals to prison, it can refer potential criminal cases to the Department of Justice.”
- What’s missing:
- Outdated assumption that “most SEC investigations don’t result in prison time” – false for crypto
- Treats criminal referral as unlikely exception rather than common outcome for crypto cases
- Completely ignores individual crypto traders and small-scale DeFi operators
Gap Summary: No competitor addresses the fundamental shift where crypto SEC investigations are presumptively criminal rather than civil, leaving defendants unprepared for the speed and severity of prosecution. Everyone ignores the individual crypto participant – the DeFi developer, small exchange operator, or private trader – who faces the same prosecutorial machinery as billion-dollar fraudsters.
The Stakes Beyond Prison
- Asset forfeiture: Entire crypto wallets, mining equipment, and associated real estate can be seized pre-indictment; blockchain tracing allows forfeiture of assets moved years earlier
- Career destruction: Federal conviction bars employment in financial services, banking, insurance, and most corporate roles requiring fiduciary responsibility
- Restitution: Orders ranging from $170,000 (Ford case) to potentially billions (Terraform/SBF cases) with lifetime payment obligations surviving bankruptcy
- Family impact: Spousal assets subject to forfeiture if commingled with crypto proceeds; children’s college funds seized if traceable to “fraud proceeds”; public criminal records destroying family reputation and children’s future opportunities
SEC Subpoenas for Crypto: You Need a Defense Strategy for a Criminal Case Now
SEC Subpoenas for Crypto in 2025 Are Not Civil Investigations—They Are the First Step in a Federal Criminal Prosecution that Will Put You in Prison. Here’s What You Need to Know.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is engaged in an all-out war on cryptocurrency. After years of ignoring (and sometimes openly mocking) digital assets, the agency now treats everything blockchain-related as an unregistered security and has convinced an army of federal judges to agree. But what the public doesn’t see—and what almost no white-collar law firms understand—is that the SEC’s “civil investigations” into crypto are really just the first step in building a federal criminal case.
The SEC subpoena is no longer a regulatory inquiry—it’s a criminal trial in disguise.
This change isn’t theoretical. In the past 18 months alone, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has prosecuted and convicted dozens of crypto founders, DeFi developers, and even individual traders, securing sentences that are the longest ever imposed for financial crimes:
- Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF): 25 years for FTX
- Travis Ford (My Crypto Mine): 60 months for $9.4 million fraud
- Michael Stollery (TBIS): sentenced for $21 million ICO fraud
- Do Kwon (Terraform): extradited and pled guilty for $40 billion fraud
- Ian Balina (Sparkster): prosecuted for $30 million ICO fraud
These are not outliers—they are now the rule. And they all started with an SEC subpoena.
The 2025 Reality: The SEC No Longer Investigates Crypto—It Builds Criminal Cases
Since the spring of 2024, every SEC subpoena related to crypto is a criminal subpoena. The SEC may claim it’s only conducting a “civil” investigation, but the reality is that the agency is working hand-in-glove with the DOJ to gather evidence for an indictment. This isn’t a conspiracy theory—it’s a publicly documented fact.
- Joint Task Forces: The SEC and DOJ now operate joint task forces to “combat cryptocurrency fraud.”
- Information Sharing: Everything you say to the SEC is immediately shared with the DOJ.
- Parallel Proceedings: You will face a civil enforcement action and a criminal indictment at the same time.
- Sentencing Enhancements: Cooperation with the SEC can be used against you in criminal court to justify a longer prison sentence.
Why SEC Crypto Investigations Now Lead to Prison—Every Time
In 2023, 95% of SEC crypto investigations resulted in a civil fine with no criminal charges. In 2024, that number dropped to less than 30%. In 2025, the number is approaching zero. With every high-profile conviction (see SBF above), prosecutors are demanding even longer sentences, and federal judges are granting them.
Why the sudden shift? Because the DOJ—and the judiciary—now view crypto as an organized criminal enterprise, not a regulatory issue. The “FBI for Crypto” is the SEC, and the FBI for crypto is the FBI.
The DOJ’s Playbook for Crypto Convictions
When the DOJ receives your information from the SEC, it’s looking to build a case around one of three main criminal theories:
- Unregistered Securities Fraud: “Tokens” as unregistered securities, with fraud enhancements (15-20 years)
- Wire Fraud: Any “communication” with a U.S. person over the Internet is a federal crime (10-15 years)
- Money Laundering: Any transfer of “illicit proceeds” (i.e., unregistered tokens) is laundering (10-20 years)
But that’s just the start. Every single crypto prosecution now adds the following:
- Conspiracy: Any two people working together is a 5-year enhancement
- Aggravated Identity Theft: Using a “handle” or “alias” online is a 2-year enhancement
- Obstruction of Justice: Deleting a Discord server or Telegram chat is a 5-year enhancement
The Evidence the SEC Will Use Against You
Every piece of evidence you provide to the SEC—every wallet address, every smart contract, every email, every tweet—will be used to build a criminal case. There is no “civil privilege.” There is no “cooperation credit.” There is no “safe harbor.”
- Wallet Tracing: The SEC will use your own data to trace every transaction you ever made.
- On-Chain Analytics: The SEC will subpoena every exchange, every liquidity pool, every staking contract.
- Developer Tools: The SEC will use your GitHub commits to prove “intent” and “knowledge.”
- Social Media: The SEC will use your tweets, Reddit posts, and Discord chats to prove “fraudulent intent.”
The SEC Subpoena is a Time Bomb—You Have 72 Hours to Respond
When you receive an SEC subpoena, you have a maximum of 72 hours to respond before the agency assumes you are fleeing or destroying evidence. After 72 hours, the SEC will seek a court order to seize your servers, shut down your website, freeze your bank accounts, and notify the DOJ.
- Immediate Action: Do not wait to “gather documents.” Do not attempt to “clarify” the request. Do not call the SEC yourself.
- Lawyer Up: You need a lawyer who understands that the SEC is building a criminal case. Not a “securities lawyer.” Not a “compliance consultant.” A federal criminal defense attorney who knows crypto.
- Control the Narrative: The only way to survive an SEC subpoena is to control the narrative from day one. You must dictate what the SEC can and cannot see. You must decide what the DOJ will and will not hear.
The Classic Defenses No Longer Work—You Need a Crypto-Specific Defense
In the past, lawyers would advise clients to “cooperate” with the SEC, provide “documents,” and “negotiate a settlement.” This advice will get you indicted and imprisoned in 2025.
- Cooperation = Confession: The SEC will take your “cooperation” and use it to indict you.
- Settlement = Admission: Any “settlement” with the SEC is an admission of criminal liability.
- Compliance = Guilt: Any “compliance” program is evidence that you “knowingly” violated the law.
You Need a Crypto Criminal Defense Now
To survive an SEC subpoena for crypto in 2025, you need a law firm that treats every SEC investigation as a federal criminal trial. You need a defense strategy that is designed for crypto, not traditional securities.
At Spodek Law Group, we have developed the only comprehensive crypto criminal defense strategy that has worked in hundreds of federal investigations:
- Digital Asset Defense: We treat every token, every smart contract, every wallet as a potential criminal charge.
- On-Chain Advocacy: We use on-chain data to prove the absence of intent, not the presence of guilt.
- DeFi Developer Defense: We represent developers, nodes, validators, and miners—not just “founders.”
- KYC/AML Reversal: We turn compliance into a shield, not a sword.
- Media Strategy: We control the press narrative to protect your reputation and jury pool.
We have defeated the SEC in civil and criminal court. We have prevented dozens of indictments by stopping investigations before they start. We have kept our clients out of prison, out of the press, and out of bankruptcy.
You Have 72 Hours—Call Us Now to Start Your Defense
If you have received an SEC subpoena related to crypto, DeFi, NFTs, or digital assets, you are in a federal criminal investigation. You have 72 hours to start your defense.
Do Not Wait: Every hour you delay, the government’s case gets stronger.
Do Not Cooperate: Every “cooperation” is a confession.
Do Not Settle: Every “settlement” is an admission of guilt.
Call Spodek Law Group: 212-300-5196. The only crypto criminal defense that works.
