Finland has accused the founder of cryptocurrency project Hex of tax fraud and assault and Interpol has issued a Red Notice for him, who is also known as Richard Heart. Schueler faces mounting legal troubles with that notice, the first global alert for law enforcement agencies to track down and briefly detain an individual.
Schueler is accused by Finnish authorities of evading taxes from June 2020 to April 2024. The charges received new attention when Schueler was named to Europe’s most wanted fugitives list, while a disturbing accusation of assaulting a minor was noted.
Schueler Responds to Allegations as Crypto Market Reacts
Finnish authorities said Schueler allegedly physically assaulted a 16-year old by ‘grabbing their hair, dragging them into the stairwell and knocking them to the ground,’ according to Finnish authoritiesBut Schueler has had nothing to say publicly about the Red Notice or the charges, which came on the heels of a remand order issued three months ago.
Nevertheless, he has continued to post on social media, taking sides in his case. On his X (formerly Twitter) account, he called out critics and challenged them to outgive him, telling followers that he had contributed $27 million to medical research.
“What’s the point in being wanted if you could be the most wanted?” Schueler wrote about his ventures, including self help publications and peer to peer publishing software. ‘My job is to make the world a better place, and I can tell you, sometimes the world can be unkind to people trying to make a difference,’ he said when defending his initiatives.
Shockwaves have gone throughout the crypto market following news of this. Schueler’s project has since announced and Hex, the digital token backing it, has fallen 25% since. HEX has lost more than 99% from its all time high of $0.5561, putting a spotlight on the cryptocurrency and its founder.
The Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant in the same vein as Interpol, but it’s much more than that: It delivers a very effective signal to law enforcement officials around the world that they would like this man located and so would the chief requesting assistance. For Schueler and the wider cryptocurrency community, the case is likely to go down as a classic battle, and the implications will be wide ranging.
