Wong Ching-kit, 25, known on social media as ‘Coin Young Master,’ and a 20-year-old accomplice, have been arrested in Hong Kong by officers from the Commercial Crime Bureau, South China News reports.
They have reportedly been charged with conspiracy to defraud for selling cryptocurrency ‘mining machines’ and services to investors as part of a failed “Filecoin” cryptocurrency venture.
The arrest comes after 18 investors launched a suit against Wong in January claiming he used the mining scheme to dupe them out of HK $3 million dollars (US$384,600).
Another investor also reportedly filed a lawsuit against Wong in February seeking to be reimbursed HK$125,000 (US$16,000) for five machines.
Wong made international headlines last fall when he allegedly staged a “money from the sky” publicity stunt in Sham Shui Po- the poorest sector of Hong Kong.
In the stunt, Wong is filmed standing next to an HK$6.2 million Lamborghini as he asks a passerby if they “believe money will fall from the sky.”
Seconds later, buckets of HK $100 dollar bills fall from a nearby tower as people on the ground scramble to grab the money.
Wong has been associated with several crypto ventures, and his alleged victims say he made grand promises at numerous promotional seminars and on social media for the fraudulent mining machine program.
According to police:
“We know the company had been promoting the product in a high profile way [before April last year], so we don’t rule out the possibility that there might be more victims, or the offence took place over a longer period.”
Wong changed his name from Kwan Tsz-kit after he was convicted of theft in 2012 and ordered to perform 160 hours of community service.