Reginald Fowler rejects plea deal in ongoing crypto 'shadow bank' case, prosecutors say

Efforts between U.S. prosecutors and Reginald Fowler – the former Minnesota Vikings investor accused of running an unlicensed money transmission business for crypto exchanges – to strike a plea deal have broken down, according to Bloomberg News.

Fowler rejected a plea deal – which seemed all but set to occur following a court hearing last month – amid disagreement over the amount of money he would be required to forfeit, according to Bloomberg. Word of the talks breakdown was included in  a letter submitted to the court by prosecutors on Friday. 

The letter stated:

"On Thursday, Mr. Fowler rejected the current plea offer, and the Government has formally withdrawn that offer; thus, the parties anticipate the case proceeding to trial as scheduled on April 28, 2020. Although the Court set a schedule for motions in limine in advance of trial, a motion schedule for general pretrial motions has not been set; thus, the parties will confer and submit a joint letter within the next week proposing a schedule for the Court’s consideration."

Fowler was indicted last April for running a so-called "shadow bank" that was tied to Crypto Capital, a payment processing service once used by major exchanges like Bitfinex, Kraken and others at one time or another.