Vortex
Last changed 2026-10-10 · Score recalculated — Rescored under Scoring v2, the published formula (avoid.net/scoring): 2 → 26. Problems weighed by who is responsible: the subject's own conduct −90, problems around the subject, caused by others −3; legitimacy credit long-running +2; no established finding that it defrauded anyone, so it stays out of the red band. Version history →
Why this score
| Every page starts at | 65 |
| The subject's own conduct | -90 |
| Problems around it, caused by others | -3 |
| Long-running | +2 |
| Sum | -26 |
- No established finding that it defrauded anyone, so it stays out of the red band (26 or above).
Score: 26/100 (kept between 0 and 100)
How scoring works →Summary
Vortex is a cryptocurrency market-making firm whose leadership was indicted by a federal grand jury in Oakland, California on August 28, 2025, on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with an alleged coordinated wash-trading scheme. Three Russian nationals — Gleb Gora (CEO, age 24), Sergei Ryzhkov (CFO), and Michael Vogel (Business Development Manager) — are alleged to have artificially inflated cryptocurrency token prices using automated trading bots and planned to liquidate their holdings at peak prices, leaving retail investors with losses. The indictment was publicly announced on March 30, 2026, as part of the DOJ's Operation Token Mirrors, a multi-agency undercover enforcement action targeting market-manipulation-as-a-service operations.
Connected Entities
4 entities · 60 linked investigations- Operation Token Mirrors — DOJ Crypto Market Manipulation Ring→mentioned with→Ethereum(80%)
- Operation Token Mirrors — DOJ Crypto Market Manipulation Ring→mentioned with→Gotbit(70%)
- Gotbit→mentioned with→Operation Token Mirrors — DOJ Crypto Market Manipulation Ring(80%)
- Vortex→mentioned with→Operation Token Mirrors — DOJ Crypto Market Manipulation Ring(80%)
- Vortex→mentioned with→Ethereum(60%)
- Vortex→mentioned with→Gotbit(70%)
Timeline(6 events)
October 2024
First phase of Operation Token Mirrors charges unsealed by DOJ, targeting an initial wave of cryptocurrency market manipulation defendants.
DOJ / IRS-CIMarch 2025
Federal grand jury in Oakland indicts Gotbit-affiliated defendants as part of Operation Token Mirrors (approximate date; Gotbit indictment filed March 2025).
TRM Labs28 August 2025
Federal grand jury in Oakland returns indictment charging Gleb Gora (CEO), Sergei Ryzhkov (CFO), and Michael Vogel (Business Development Manager) of Vortex with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud.
DOJ Press Release2 October 2025
Gleb Gora (age 24, CEO of Vortex) arrested in Singapore at the request of the United States government.
DOJ Press Release / The StarSeptember 2025
Third indictment in Operation Token Mirrors filed against Contrarian and Antier defendants (approximate date; filed September 2025).
TRM Labs30 March 2026
DOJ publicly announces all three Operation Token Mirrors indictments simultaneously, including Vortex. Gleb Gora makes his initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Oakland, California following extradition from Singapore.
DOJ Press ReleaseDecision Log
- slot 455357683 · hash 2rnNuKGJ2CGEySM1zh4KEHYYBcqtsDPAibVFBy1xb7sP
- slot 426734442 · hash Eho1SSj1ZybKJVAdPj4kyZ6QDFwLerr9CvHJAZTSAYWB
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (2 decisions). 13 of 13 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 6/15/2026, 11:31:00 PM
last updated: 10/10/2026, 6:39:42 PM
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