The United States recently made a significant announcement regarding the sale of seized crypto-currency to compensate victims of fraud. A request from the US Department of Justice and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California was granted by US District Judge Todd Robinson to liquidate BitConnect crypto-currency valued at around $56 million.
The individual behind this massive digital fortune was none other than Glenn Arcaro, a 44-year-old from Los Angeles who was known as BitConnect’s top promoter. Arcaro admitted his involvement in an international fraud scheme, leading to the seizure of the crypto-currency as proceeds of crime.
Arcaro pleaded guilty on September 1 to being part of a conspiracy to defraud BitConnect investors in the US and abroad. The scheme involved deceiving victims out of $2 billion by misleading them on social media about BitConnect’s technology, promising substantial profits and guaranteed returns through their trading software.
The FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Eric Smith mentioned that Arcaro had defrauded thousands of individuals worldwide. The case is still under active investigation by the FBI and the IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Arcaro is set to be sentenced on January 7, potentially facing a maximum prison term of 20 years. The Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs announced plans to liquidate the crypto-currency to benefit victims of the BitConnect fraud, calling it the largest recovery of a crypto-currency fraud in US history.
For more information on the BitConnect scheme and how victims can seek assistance, individuals are advised to visit the official website of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
The case of BitConnect serves as a cautionary tale about the risks associated with investing in crypto-currencies and highlights the importance of due diligence and regulatory oversight in the digital asset space.