  Fraud across the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem is growing, with
victims losing billions to DeFi scams every year. However, there is a
disconnect between the reported value of these scams and associated legal
prosecutions. We use open-source investigative tools to (1) investigate
potential frauds involving Ethereum tokens using on-chain data and token smart
contract analysis, and (2) investigate the ways proceeds from these scams were
subsequently laundered. The analysis enabled us to (1) uncover
transaction-based evidence of several rug pull and pump-and-dump schemes, and
(2) identify their perpetrators' money laundering tactics and cash-out methods.
The rug pulls were less sophisticated than anticipated, money laundering
techniques were also rudimentary and many funds ended up at centralized
exchanges. This study demonstrates how open-source investigative tools can
extract transaction-based evidence that could be used in a court of law to
prosecute DeFi frauds. Additionally, we investigate how these funds are
subsequently laundered.
