The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly ended its investigation of Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell and returned property belonging to him that was seized in a 2023 search of his home.
According to a Tuesday Fortune report, the FBI had returned devices to Powell and ended its probe over allegations he had hacked and cyberstalked the Verge Center for the Arts, a nonprofit he helped found in 2008.
The investigation, reportedly not connected to Powell’s association with Kraken, the cryptocurrency exchange he co-founded, or the crypto industry, resulted in the FBI searching his home and seizing electronic devices that could have contained digital assets.
Reports suggested that Powell had been under investigation by US authorities since 2022. The Kraken co-founder repeatedly denied involvement in the alleged activities and filed a civil suit against members of Verge’s board of directors.
The report did not cite a reason the US Department of Justice and the FBI ended their investigation into Powell, who became politically active in the 2024 election after contributing $1 million in Ether (ETH) to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign.
Trump appointees Kash Patel and Dan Bongino currently head the FBI as director and deputy director, and Pam Bondi, also appointed by the president, leads the Justice Department as US Attorney General.
Related: Kraken’s Powell claims in lawsuit he was denied housing due to crypto ties
Kraken had been facing an SEC lawsuit
In 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against Kraken, alleging the exchange had operated without proper registration. However, the agency dropped the case in March under SEC Acting Chair Mark Uyeda.
The enforcement action against Kraken was one of several the SEC dropped amid an apparent change in the agency’s stance on enacting regulation by enforcement. Years-long probes and cases into crypto companies, including Ripple Labs, Coinbase and Gemini, were dropped in a matter of weeks.
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