The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the US Department of Justice have charged four suspects with creating the JetCoin cryptocurrency pyramid and defrauding investors for a total of $44 million.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused three US citizens: Dwayne Golden, Gregory Aggesen and Marquis Egerton, as well as Indian citizen Jatin Patel of fraud and extortion. The agency claims that they organized cryptocurrency schemes called Empowercoin and Ecoinplus, with the help of which they managed to “swindle” investors from more than $23 million in bitcoins. In addition, together with Patel, they created the JetCoin cryptocurrency scam, during which they raised $21 million.
The creators of these schemes claimed that they worked with professionals with extensive experience in bitcoin trading, so investors were guaranteed a profit of 200% in 90 days. It turned out that the scammers embezzled $9.8 million from the budget of Ecoinplus and Empowercoin, and $7.8 million from JetCoin. They used part of the money to pay investors at the “top” of the pyramid, and spent most of the money on personal needs.
The US Department of Justice also released an 11-count indictment against Golden, Aggesen and Egerton. The agency accused them of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and falsification of information. The agency alleges that since June 2017, the defendants have attempted to interfere with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation by destroying evidence and providing false information to law enforcement. By these actions, the defendants obstructed justice, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Recall that in 2020, the FTC expressed its readiness to compensate the losses of investors who became victims of cryptocurrency scams. However, at the end of last year, the Director General of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Nikhil Rathi, said that governments should not compensate for the loss of users who were careless with investments.
