Overview

• A federal indictment unsealed August 13 in the Southern District of New York charges Richard Kim with one count each of securities fraud and wire fraud for allegedly deceiving Zero Edge investors.
• Prosecutors contend Kim diverted about $3.8 million of a $4.3 million seed round into his personal crypto accounts and wagers at platforms including Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Backpack and Shuffle.com.
• Zero Edge never launched its promised blockchain casino and entered voluntary liquidation in December 2024 after multimillion-dollar losses.
• In emails and in statements to the FBI, Kim acknowledged misappropriating funds and characterized his actions as “clearly wrong” and “completely unjustifiable.”
• Kim remains free on a $250,000 bond as the SEC pursues a parallel civil action and his criminal case, overseen by Judge Lorna G. Schofield, carries a maximum of 20 years per count.