ChainCatcher news, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, announced that on October 15, 2024, JUAN TACURI, one of the promoters of the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme Forcount (later known as Weltsys), was sentenced to a maximum of 240 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.It is reported that the scheme spanned the globe, ensnaring thousands of victim investors ("victims"), primarily targeting Spanish-speaking individuals in the United States. JUAN TACURI profited millions of dollars from the scam and spent the money on items such as real estate and luxury goods in Florida.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, an 86-year-old former California lawyer was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $14 million after admitting to running a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.On October 8, Las Vegas federal court Judge Gloria Navarro sentenced David Kagel to probation after he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge of commodity fraud in May.Due to his poor health, Kagel is currently receiving hospice care at a senior facility in Las Vegas, where he will serve his probation unless he leaves, at which point he will be required to wear a monitoring device. Government prosecutors who charged Kagel last year stated that from December 2017 to around June 2022, David Kagel and two accomplices lured victims into investing in a fraudulent cryptocurrency trading scheme with promises of high returns and no risk.

ChainCatcher news, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon sentenced 41-year-old IcomTech founder David Carmona to 121 months in prison on Friday. Carmona had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit telecommunications fraud.

ChainCatcher news, the U.S. SEC announced emergency asset freeze measures against brothers Jonathan Adam and Tanner Adam and their company, accusing them of executing a $60 million Ponzi scheme from January 2023 to June 2024, involving over 80 investors.The SEC stated that the Adam brothers fabricated a cryptocurrency trading "robot" and lending pool, promising monthly returns of up to 13.5%. In reality, they used investor funds to pay false returns and for personal luxury expenses, including the purchase of a $30 million apartment and luxury cars. The SEC has filed a lawsuit in court seeking a permanent injunction, recovery of illegal gains, and civil penalties.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoinist, Yang Bin, who was once the second richest person on the Chinese rich list, has been sentenced to six years in prison in Singapore for running a Ponzi scheme disguised as a cryptocurrency investment business, involving millions of dollars.On August 26, the 61-year-old Dutch national of Chinese descent admitted to eight charges, including conspiracy to participate in a fraudulent scheme and operating without a valid work permit, and was fined 16,000 Singapore dollars (12,200 USD).According to local media reports, Yang Bin conducted fraudulent activities under the name A&A Blockchain Innovation, attracting over 700 investors who invested 6.7 million Singapore dollars between May 2021 and February 2022, but lost about 1.1 million Singapore dollars.The company claimed to own 300,000 cryptocurrency mining machines, generating a daily return of 0.5% for investors. However, such machines did not actually exist. Instead, Yang Bin used funds from new investors to pay returns to earlier investors, a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.It is reported that in 2001, Yang Bin was ranked as the second richest person on the Chinese rich list by Forbes magazine and was regarded as a pioneer in China's economic boom and a model of rapid wealth accumulation. In 2003, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Chinese court for tax evasion and was released in 2016 after serving his sentence.

ChainCatcher news, OmegaPro co-founder Andreas Szakacs was arrested in Turkey in July on suspicion of involvement in a $4 billion cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.Szakacs, who changed his name to Emre Avci after obtaining Turkish citizenship, denied the allegations and stated that he was engaged in finance and marketing work. Turkish authorities seized computers and 32 cold wallets during a raid, tracing $160 million in cryptocurrency flows.It is reported that OmegaPro collapsed at the end of 2022, after multiple countries issued fraud warnings against it.

ChainCatcher news, according to Coindesk, the U.S. State Department is offering a reward of $5 million for information leading to the arrest of OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova. The new reward is provided under the State Department's Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, increasing the previous $250,000 reward offered by the FBI.It is reported that Ruja Ignatova, who once referred to herself as the "Crypto Queen," went missing in Athens in 2017. Ruja Ignatova will be charged in absentia for her involvement in the crypto Ponzi scheme, which defrauded global investors of approximately $4 billion during its collapse from 2014 to early 2017.

ChainCatcher news reports that disbarred California lawyer David Kagel has admitted to orchestrating a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims of over $9.5 million. The 85-year-old Kagel promised high returns through an artificial intelligence trading bot and falsely claimed to hold $11 million in Bitcoin to ensure the safety of investments. He exploited his identity as a lawyer to gain trust, providing forged letters on fake company letterhead to support his false claims.Kagel and his accomplices did not make any investments but instead used the funds for personal gain. Kagel faces a maximum of five years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for September 10. Co-conspirators David Gilbert Saffron and Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr. have also been charged for their involvement in the scheme and are awaiting trial.

ChainCatcher News: The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Airbit Club co-founder PABLO RENATO RODRIGUEZ has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Four other defendants in the case have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.AirBit Club was founded in 2015, and prosecutors stated that the scheme defrauded victims of $100 million. Six Airbit Club executives pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, and other offenses in March of this year.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, the Manhattan federal court has sentenced Eddy Alexandre, founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency and forex trading platform EminiFX, to nine years in prison for operating a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, defrauding over 25,000 investors of more than $248 million through his cryptocurrency and forex platform. The sentence was handed down more than four months after the cryptocurrency fraudster pleaded guilty to commodity fraud.Previous report, Alexandre was accused of raising funds from tens of thousands of investors. Between September 2021 and May 2022, Alexandre attracted over 25,000 investors by offering an enticing return of 5% per week, netting over $248 million. His cryptocurrency and forex platform operated as a multi-level marketing scheme, encouraging old investors to recruit new users for the platform.

ChainCatcher News: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently filed a lawsuit against William Koo Ichioka in the Northern District of California, accusing him of operating a Ponzi scheme involving digital assets and foreign exchange. He is alleged to have mismanaged over $21 million of investor assets and used funds from new clients to create the illusion of profits for his Ponzi scheme.The CFTC accuses Ichioka of running a "classic" Ponzi scheme and engaging in "freshly minted" fraudulent activities. Ichioka has proposed a settlement to resolve the CFTC's allegations. Meanwhile, the agency is seeking a court order to impose trading and registration bans on Ichioka, as well as fines. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, Twitter user Nay tweeted that, after analyzing on-chain data, DWF Labs "almost always matches the amount of tokens entering and exiting with time and amount, which means these are not loans, so they are not standard market maker trades." Nay stated that the pattern of all DWF Labs transactions is either to purchase $50,000 to $100,000 worth of stablecoins about once a day, or to make large transactions of up to $5 million each, then deposit all (or almost all) of the funds on CEX.At the same time, many of their public investment transactions cannot be matched with on-chain data, "with $65 million confirmed on-chain, reportedly over $150 million, and many more unreported," Nay said. "One explanation is that they sell tokens on behalf of project teams at no less than a certain price and remit in advance, thus earning a delta. Many transactions have a 10-20% discount, but some do not."In addition, Nay stated that DWF Labs' official head Andrei Grachev is connected to the $4 billion cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme OneCoin, which was previously disclosed by Russian media in 2019. (source link)

According to ChainCatcher news, as reported by Coindesk, an investment manager from Ohio, Rathnakishore Giri, was arrested on Friday for allegedly running a cryptocurrency investment scam that raised at least $10 million from investors. Giri allegedly portrayed himself as an expert in cryptocurrency trading, proficient in Bitcoin derivatives, misleading investors. According to the indictment, Giri falsely promised investors that the funds they invested with him would yield substantial returns, with no risk to the principal.Giri is currently facing five counts of wire fraud, and if convicted, each count could result in a maximum sentence of 20 years. (Source link)

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Trade Coin Club with a $295 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, claiming it netted over 82,000 bitcoins from 2016 to 2018. Trade Coin Club promised continuous high-frequency small trades based on trading bots, with a minimum daily return rate for investors of 0.35%, but in reality, "investor withdrawals were entirely paid from the deposits of other investors." (Source link)