Renwick Haddow, a UK national, was extradited from Morocco to the US for committing fraud that saw over $36 million stolen from investors. The extradition is just part of a long criminal saga by Haddow. Last year, the SEC joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in filing charges against Haddow, an individual with a long history in scams. Haddow was accused of stealing over $180 million over a decade ago in an elaborate Ponzi scheme.
Haddow was said to have misappropriated investor funds and made false and misleading representations to investors in Bitcoin Store, Inc., Bar Works Inc., and related entities he controlled.
Haddow was expected to appear in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York this past Friday.
According to the allegations in the Complaint, from November 2014 through June 2017, Haddow solicited investments in start-up companies he created, including Bitcoin Store, an alleged online platform for purchasing, selling, and storing the digital currency Bitcoin. Bar Works was described as a company that adapts former restaurants, bar premises, and other locations into co-working spaces. Haddow supposedly made material misrepresentations about, among other things, the management, operations, and historical performance of those companies.
Haddow solicited investments through agent brokers and through his control of InCrowd Equity Inc., which represented itself as a crowdfunding platform where investors could purchase shares of start-ups supposedly vetted by InCrowd. Haddow also misappropriated funds purportedly invested in Bitcoin Store and Bar Works for his own use and the use of others.
Haddow has been charged with two counts of wire fraud: one relating to the Bitcoin Store scheme and the other relating to the Bar Works scheme. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.