Richard Heart, the founder of PulseChain, Hex and PulseX, was today arrested in Istanbul, Turkey on allegations of aggravated tax fraud.
Officially known as Richard James Schueler, the crypto mogul was taken into custody based on an Interpol Red Notice issued at the request of Finland. The operation was conducted by the Istanbul Police, Anti-Financial Crimes branches, and the nation’s National Intelligence Organization.
Other than evading hundreds of millions in taxes between 2020 and 2024, Heart has also been accused of assault.
The raid that led to his arrest took place in Istanbul’s high-end district of Beşiktaş. There, law enforcement seized an immense stash of luxury goods and electronics. Confiscated items included $4 million in cash in various vacuum-sealed currencies, encrypted cold storage wallets, and heavy-duty crypto mining equipment.
Before his arrest today, the crypto mogul had been sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2023 for allegedly misappropriating $12 million worth of investor funds to buy luxury items.
However, the case seems to have hit a dead end after a federal judge dismissed it due to a lack of global activity jurisdiction, and the agency declined to appeal.
Following the arrest, the “Heartchain” ecosystem’s value took a massive hit. Its native gas token PulseChain (PLS) tanked roughly 45%-50% to trade at $0.059. HEX, a high-yield blockchain certificate of deposit, plummeted 30% to trade at $0.00066. Meanwhile, PulseX (PLSX), the native utility and governance token, plunged 31% to trade at $0.055.
Source: CoinMarketCap
Panic selling has strained the available liquidity, causing massive price shifts that further compound the downward price trend.
For now, Heart remains under Turkish custody, awaiting Finland to follow up on the extradition process.
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