US Sentences Conspirator of $3.4B Bitconnect Crypto Ponzi Scheme to 38 Months in Prison

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that a Los Angeles man has been sentenced to "38 months in prison for his participation in Bitconnect." The DOJ described Bitconnect as "a massive fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme."

Glenn Arcaro, 44, conspired with others to exploit investor interest in cryptocurrency by fraudulently marketing Bitconnect's proprietary coin offering and digital currency exchange as a lucrative investment, court documents showed.

The Justice Department described: "The Bitconnect Ponzi scheme ensnared 4,154 victims from 95 countries making it a true worldwide Ponzi scheme."

According to the DOJ, Arcaro transmitted the proceeds that he earned from the Bitconnect scheme to offshore accounts, changed some of the proceeds into precious metals storage, and obtained foreign passports. The Justice Department noted that his goal was to avoid paying federal and state income taxes on his Bitconnect income and to shield his assets from collection by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The DOJ detailed: "Arcaro admitted that he earned no less than $24 million from the Bitconnect scheme, all of which, according to court documents, will now be repaid to investors in restitution or forfeited to the government."

According to U.S. authorities, the Bitconnect Ponzi scheme reached a market capitalization of $3.4 billion at its peak. The founder and his co-conspirators allegedly obtained about $2.4 billion from investors. Recently, the Indian police launched an investigation into Bitconnect and booked its founder, although the U.S. had already charged him in February.

(Source: Bitcoin.com)