Tag: crypto fraud

Fugitive CEO Fined Record $3.4 Billion for Bitcoin Investment Fraud

A United States court has ordered a South African citizen to pay over $3 billion in fines for duping American investors through a fraudulent Bitcoin investment scheme. Cornelius Johannes Steynberg was ordered by a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to pay $1.73 billion in restitution to defrauded…


Authorities Warn of ‘Pig Butchering’ Cryptocurrency Scam

Americans are being defrauded by “pig butchering” cryptocurrency investment scams, with criminals utilizing social media to cheat thousands of people into losing hundreds of millions of dollars, according to U.S. authorities. “Pig butchering” involves scammers tricking a victim, referred to as a “pig,” into investing money in cryptocurrencies by promising a high rate of return….


Binance Withdrawals Surge to $3 Billion in 24 Hours as Crypto Industry Trembles Amid FTX Fallout

Billions of dollars have flowed out of Binance, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, as the industry struggles with the high-profile fallout of FTX. Binance’s 24-hour net outflow hit $3 billion, according to a Dec. 13 tweet by blockchain data firm Nansen. The exchange reported more than $62.5 billion in disclosed holdings….


Sam Bankman-Fried Says FTX US Users Will Get 100 Percent of Their Money Back

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, has dismissed the notion that users of the platform will not recover anything substantial from the collapsed firm. In an interview with YouTube commentator Tiffany Fong, Bankman-Fried said that FTX U.S. will get “a dollar on the dollar” and that international users can expect…


New CEO of Bankrupt FTX Being Paid $1,300 an Hour, Court Filings Show

John Ray, who has been hired as the new CEO of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, is being paid a hefty sum of money for his services, according to legal documents filed by the company. Ray, who once led the infamous energy firm Enron through its bankruptcy proceedings, replaced FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Ray is…


The Curious Case of a $7 Million ‘Trump Lose’ Holding on FTX’s Balance Sheet

With crypto exchange FTX’s implosion triggering worries in the sector, Ken Griffin, the CEO of hedge fund Citadel, highlighted a curious item on the exchange’s balance sheet—a crypto token called TRUMPLOSE valued at over $7 million. “You know, on the balance sheet at FTX there’s a line called ‘Trump Lose.’ And Sam was the second…


SEC Charges 11 People in $300 Million Global Crypto Pyramid Fraud

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged 11 individuals for creating a crypto pyramid and Ponzi scheme that raked in over $300 million from millions of global investors, including those from the United States. In January 2020, Mikhail Sergeev, Sergey Maslakov, and “Jane Doe,” also known as Lola Ferrari, launched the website Forsage.io,…


Fake Crypto Apps Scammed Investors out of Over $42 Million, FBI Says

The FBI issued a warning to U.S. investors and financial institutions about cyber criminals targeting cryptocurrency markets with fraudulent schemes, resulting in hundreds of people losing millions of dollars in these activities. “The FBI has observed cyber criminals contacting U.S. investors, fraudulently claiming to offer legitimate cryptocurrency investment services, and convincing investors to download fraudulent…


Consumers Lost at Least $1 Billion in Cryptocurrency Scams in Early 2021, Says FTC

More than 46,000 American consumers have officially reported a total loss of $1 billion in cryptocurrency to fraud from January 2021 through March 2022, according to a new June 3 report from the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC reported that the data is based on fraud reports made directly to the agency, which means that…


SEC Increases Size of Crypto Division to Protect Investors Against Fraud

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has allocated 20 additional positions to the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit to protect investors in the cryptocurrency markets against fraud and related abuse. As more investors access crypto markets, it becomes “increasingly important” to dedicate more resources to protect them, SEC chair Gary Gensler…