Tag Archives: crypto scams

Federal prosecutors in the United States have filed charges against five individuals accused of carrying out a complex phishing and hacking operation that targeted employees of companies across the country. According to authorities, the scheme led to the theft of intellectual property, sensitive corporate data, and millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, including $6.3 million stolen from a single victim. Details of the Alleged Scheme The alleged operation, which spanned...

One of the most popular individuals in the crypto world (and not for good reasons), Ruja Ignatova, also known as the “Cryptoqueen,” is the founder of the fraudulent scheme OneCoin, which embezzled over $4 billion from victims. Ignatova is considered the mastermind of the scam, but her whereabouts have remained unknown since she was last spotted in Greece in 2017. Many conspiracy theories indicate that she might be dead or hiding on a luxurious yacht in the Mediterranean Sea....

Nick Neuman, the CEO of Bitcoin storage solutions provider Casa, recently shared an encounter with a phishing scammer impersonating Coinbase support to steal from high-value cryptocurrency holders. In a November 20 post on X, Neuman described how he played along during a call to uncover the depth of the scheme. Preying on Wealthy Crypto Holders The recorded conversation started as a seemingly ordinary phone call with the con artist posing as a Coinbase support agent. He...

Grant Colthup, the former CEO of ACCE Australia, is facing a single fraud charge following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Colthup, who appeared in the Magistrates Court at Ipswich, Queensland, was charged with embezzling $1.47 million (2.2 million Australian dollars) from a customer. $1.5M Bitcoin Payment Goes Missing From May 2019 to September 2022, ACCE ran a digital asset exchange platform that provided cryptocurrency...

The cryptocurrency sector comprises various legitimate projects and innovations but is also rife with fraudulent schemes. One such scam reportedly pocketed billions of euros from its unsuspecting clients after using popular football players as backers. Painful Losses Following the Footballers’ Involvement El Diario – a Spanish digital newspaper known for its investigative journalism – recently claimed that a dubious cryptocurrency project, called Omegapro, embezzled a...

The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) has dismantled a massive cross-border fraud operation that used deep fake technology to con men into phony cryptocurrency investments. The scam targeted men through fake online romances, with the victims reportedly being conned out of approximately $46 million. 27 Arrested in Raid on Fraud Center Local media reports revealed that the police identified a group operating from a fraud center located in a Hung Hom industrial unit between August...

On October 15, 2024, Juan Tacuri, a senior promoter of the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme Forcount, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and one year of supervised release. The Florida resident was also ordered to forfeit a home bought with scam proceeds, $3.6 million in assets, and pay an equivalent amount in restitution to victims. Details of the Scam Court documents revealed that Forcount operated globally, defrauding thousands of victims with a particular focus on...

Chirag Tomar, a 31-year-old Indian citizen, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for orchestrating a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims out of more than $20 million. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell handed down the sentence, which also included two years of supervised release. Scammers Imitate Coinbase to Steal Millions According to court documents, Tomar and his co-conspirators executed the fraud by “spoofing” a website designed to...

An 86-year-old former attorney, David Kagel, has been sentenced to five years of probation for organizing a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of nearly $15 million. The judgment, filed on October 8 in a Las Vegas federal court, also requires him to pay $14 million in restitution to his victims. $15M Crypto Ponzi Scheme U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro handed down the sentence following Kagel’s guilty plea to one count of conspiracy...

U.S. authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), have charged Gotbit and four other crypto firms with widespread market manipulation. The charges also roped in several individuals who worked for the offending organizations. Market Makers Accused of Running Wash Trading Scheme According to a statement the SEC issued on October 9, Gotbit, ZM Quant, CLS Global, and MyTrade MM...