Beverly Hills men Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo face charges for defrauding investors out of million in crypto scam. A Beverly Hills man and another individual have been charged for allegedly defrauding investors out of over million in cryptocurrency. Gabriel Hay, 23, from Beverly Hills, and Gavin Mayo, 23, of Thousand Oaks, face multiple charges. Such charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, actual wire fraud and stalking charges. The indictment was unsealed on Friday according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors allege that Hay and Mayo had conducted a number of “rugpulls,” fraud schemes in which organisers of NFT projects or other crypto assets take investors’ money and disappear. Such scams have recently been prevalent in the world of cryptocurrency. The two are
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Beverly Hills men Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo face charges for defrauding investors out of $22 million in crypto scam.
A Beverly Hills man and another individual have been charged for allegedly defrauding investors out of over $22 million in cryptocurrency. Gabriel Hay, 23, from Beverly Hills, and Gavin Mayo, 23, of Thousand Oaks, face multiple charges. Such charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, actual wire fraud and stalking charges. The indictment was unsealed on Friday according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors allege that Hay and Mayo had conducted a number of “rugpulls,” fraud schemes in which organisers of NFT projects or other crypto assets take investors’ money and disappear. Such scams have recently been prevalent in the world of cryptocurrency. The two are reportedly alleged to have preyed on innocent investors from May 2021 to May 2024.
One of them was the “Vault of Gems NFT”. The defendants must have used it to bring in investors. Many woke up to find out their dreams, and millions had been crushed with the project, only to have the cash. According to the indictment, they have provided false information to the investors in order to make the project look legitimate.
Crypto Scam Case Highlights Dangers of Investing in NFTs
According to evidence, the defendants were said to have attempted to conceal their participation in the activities. Others were identified to make the projects’ creators not be caught in the act. However, the plan was brought to light after one of the project managers most likely betrayed them by unveiling them as the actual planners. Consequently, the leadership of Hay and Mayo filed a complaint against the whistleblower. In turn, they again allegedly targeted the individual with harassment.
This was accompanied by threats from the project manager and members of his family. Some of the messages are said to have enraged the victim, his brothers and other family members and caused them emotional trauma. This element was part of the stalking charge.
The defendants are facing legal repercussions on this one. For both conspiracy and wire fraud charges they could get up to 20 years imprisonment for each of the counts. In addition, the accused could receive up to five years for the stalking charge.
This case shows that the gains associated with investing in cryptocurrencies are increasingly becoming risky as the cases of NFTs and other digital currencies. This has been the case as more investors wake up to the adoption of new Digital currencies and tokens. The US Attorney office has promised to go on pursuing a case of fraud related to cryptocurrency to ensure that investors and those who engage in illegitimate business activities are held accountable.
Lastly, this indictment is a message for investors. It reveals how critical it is to do due diligence when selecting appropriate online investment projects in digital assets. The authorities have warned that legal actions will be taken against individuals who take advantage of naive investors.