Following unsealing of Rodney Burton’s HyperFund criminal case, details of his arrest have been made public.

While we knew Burton was arrested in Florida on January 4th, what we didn’t know is Burton was arrested at the airport… with a one-way ticket to Dubai.

Burton (right) fleeing to Dubai suggests he might have been aware he was under investigation.

This isn’t surprising, seeing as the SEC has also filed civil HyperFund fraud charges (note Burton is not a named defendant in the SEC’s case).

Following Burton’s arrest, he was transferred to Maryland where he made his initial appearance on January 25th.

Burton was then ordered temporarily detained pending a detention hearing on January 29th.

At that hearing, Burton was ordered detained pending trial.

In handing down her decision, Magistrate Judge Aslan cited Burton’s “significant assets”, the weight of the evidence presented against him, Burton’s “history [and] characteristics”, and the fact he was arrested “at airport with 1-way ticket to UAE”.

In Burton’s Order of Detention, Magistrate Judge Aslan ticked the box signifying there was “serious risk that [Burton] will not appear” if released.

Burton was indicted under seal on December 29th, 2023, alongside HyperFund co-founder Sam Lee and fellow US promoter Brenda Chunga.

Burton has been charged with conspiracy to to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

If convicted, Burton faces up to five years on each count, disgorgement and monetary penalties.