Crypto company CEO stole $5M from his own company, erased 194 records and resigned
Bitquery's former CEO, Dean Karakitsos, faces accusations of stealing over five million dollars. He allegedly transferred company funds to personal accounts and associates over several years. Karakitsos also misled investors about the company's financial standing and its cash reserves. Days before his October 2025 resignation, he deleted nearly two hundred financial records. The company is now…
Dionysios "Dean" Karakitsos, the 57-year-old CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency data firm Bitquery, is accused of embezzling over $5 million from the company. According to a lawsuit filed by Bitquery in Manhattan Supreme Court, Karakitsos allegedly transferred company funds to personal accounts over multiple years, and deleted 194 expense records from the company's accounting system.
The lawsuit suggests Karakitsos began the scheme around 2022, when Bitquery raised about $8 million from investors. Bitquery claims Karakitsos had complete control over the company's financial accounts. The CEO is accused of misleading investors about Bitquery's financial standing, telling them the company had between $5 million and $6 million in the bank, while the firm was actually generating around $2 million in revenue and facing similar operating expenses in 2024 and 2025.
Karakitsos allegedly deleted the records to conceal the money transfers before resigning in October 2025. He is also accused of retaining banking credentials for the company and refusing to return them. Bitquery is seeking the return of the alleged $5 million and additional damages, as well as a full accounting of funds and property purchased using company money.
The company has appointed co-founder Aleksey Studnev as its new CEO. Karakitsos denies the allegations and intends to respond in court.
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