SEC Charges Australian ‘Man Behind the Machine’ in $41M Crypto Fraud Scheme
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged an Australian citizen who called himself the “Man behind the Machine” in a fraudulent crypto scheme that raised almost $41 million. He and his companies made “materially false and misleading statements in connection with an unregistered offer and sale of digital asset securities.” ‘Man Behind the Machine’ Charged by SEC The SEC announced Thursday charges against Australian citizen Craig Sproule and two companies he founded for “defrauding Investors.” The two companies are....
Related News
The $2 billion crypto fraud scheme Bitconnect and its founder have been charged in the U.S. In a parallel enforcement action, a Bitconnect director and top promoter has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the U.S. “The Bitconnect scheme is believed to be the largest cryptocurrency fraud ever charged criminally,” said the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
US Authorities Take Action Against Bitconnect and Its Founder
U.S. authorities continue to take action against the fraudulent crypto trading scheme Bitconnect and its executives this week. “The Bitconnect....
In a Brooklyn federal court on Thursday, crypto personality Thomas John Sfraga, also known as “TJ Stone”, pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges for defrauding over a dozen victims out of more than $1.3 million. Fictitious Scheme Exposed According to the US Department of Justice, from 2019 to 2022, Sfraga “falsely” presented himself as the […]
Bitcoin Savings & Trust (BS&T) operator Trendon Shavers has plead not guilty to fraud charges in a New York District court. If convicted, Shavers faces up to 40 years in prison, as well as millions of dollars in potential fines and penalties. Shavers is charged with one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. The prosecution alleges that Shavers promised outsized returns to investors but in reality operated a Ponzi scheme by paying early investors with the proceeds from new ones. Shavers, who operated under the username pirateat40, solicited investors for BS&T during 2011....
Charles Ponzi. Trendon Shavers, aka "Pirate@40," was arrested this morning on securities fraud and wire fraud charges stemming from his involvement in a Bitcoin-related Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation where the operator pays returns to its investors from new capital paid by new investors, rather than from profit earned. The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, who became notorious for using the technique in 1920. Shavers was the founder and operator of Bitcoin Savings and Trust (BCS&T), which offered and sold Bitcoin-based investments through the Internet.....
The Paycoin saga is finally coming to a close. As you can see in this document, sent to victims of the Josh Garza pyramid scheme called GAW Miners, Paycoin, et cetera, Garza is scheduled to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud on June 1st. He was previously facing three charges, but high-powered law firm Ballard Spahr did precisely as predicted in our last article, whittling the charges down to one in exchange for a guilty plea. Garza was initially facing securities fraud charges as well as selling unregistered securities. Each securities fraud charge carried up to 25 years and a....