From the Court Documents
They ran the headlines. Now read the paperwork. This is the case of U.S. v. Rodney Burton (No. 1:24-cr-00034-RDB, D. Md.) as the government's own documents tell it.
Rodney Burton — Bitcoin Rodney — got into crypto in 2017 and built his name from his grandmother's basement. "Straight out the basement" was his own line long before it was anybody's headline. Books followed — 15 of them, including the Think & Master series — along with businesses, a community, and a public profile built in the open.
On January 3, 2024, he was arrested. What happened next is a matter of public record — and the record says something very different from the headlines.
The original indictment carried two counts, both about operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. A superseding indictment later raised the count to eleven.
On June 15, 2026, Rodney Burton pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the ORIGINAL indictment — 18 U.S.C. § 371, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. A licensing charge. Not fraud.
Then the government's own judgment — Dkt 116, signed July 23, 2026 — said the rest, in their own words:
“Superseding Indictment and count 2 of original Indictment are dismissed on the motion of the United States.” — Judgment, U.S. v. Rodney Burton, Dkt 116
10 of 11 counts gone. The one count was a licensing charge, not fraud.
The sentence: 32 months, with credit for time served since January 3, 2024, plus 3 years of supervised release. He was released on July 24, 2026, after some 933 days detained. House arrest ended October 24, 2026.
Don't take our word for any of it. Every document behind these lines is sitting in the Documents Room, in full, for anyone to read.
Rodney's own account of the case and what it cost him runs in his own books — including United States vs. US, his two-part work on the plea-bargain system.
Next question: Is Bitcoin Rodney legit? →
Dr. R Burton — public name. Legal name Rodney Burton. Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, CICA International University & Seminary, conferred August 2023 in recognition of his work. In crypto since 2017. Author of 15 books. Clauvus LLC.
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