The US Department of Justice and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern District of California sold cryptoassets confiscated from the “promoter” of the BitConnect pyramid in the amount of $ 56 million to compensate the victims.
The US Department of Justice website states that last Friday, District Judge Todd Robinson granted a petition from the department and the prosecutor’s office to authorize the sale of cryptoassets seized from a BitConnect representative. The proceeds will be paid to users who have suffered losses when investing in this project. The Justice Department said the sale of $ 56 million worth of confiscated cryptocurrencies would be the largest compensation that victims of US cryptocurrency scams would receive.
The US government has already begun searching for victims affected by BitConnect’s actions. They are also encouraged to visit the official website of the US Department of Justice to find out about their rights to compensation and what needs to be done to obtain it. According to court documents, on September 1, 44-year-old Glenn Arcaro from Los Angeles pleaded guilty to massive conspiracy to defraud BitConnect investors in the US and abroad. Arkaro will be sentenced on January 7, 2022. He faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
According to the ministry, the attackers fraudulently convinced investors to invest more than $ 2 billion in the project. The founders of BitConnect promised them a monthly profit of 40%, plus additional interest when investing large sums. The platform has been in operation for over two years, and its BCC token has been in the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization for some time.
In May, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against several US citizens advertising BitConnect on social media and selling unregistered securities to retail investors. In August, the SEC won the case, and the court ordered the defendants to pay a fine of $ 3.5 million and 190 BTC. In September, the SEC filed a civil lawsuit against BitConnect organizer Satish Kumbhani.
