Tagged: fraud

October 16, 2019 @ 8:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed a civil enforcement action against David Gilbert Saffron and Circle Society Corporation, based in Nevada. The CFTC alleges fraudulent solicitation, misappropriation, and registration violations relating to an $11 million binary options scheme Saffron operated through Circle Society…. Read More

October 13, 2019 @ 7:00 pm By Andrés Abumohor  |  

Financial technology (Fintech) companies are finding new ways to meet consumer demands and create more financial inclusion on a global scale. While Fintechs are on the rise, these companies still have to manage the same problems traditional financial institutions face: fraud. And while fraud permeates… Read More

October 6, 2019 @ 8:08 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Algo Capital, the investment division of the US-based blockchain startup Algorand, reportedly lost around $1-2 million in Algorand (ALGO) tokens and Tether (USDT) stablecoins after the company CTO Pablo Yabo’s mobile phone was hacked. The security breach allowed hackers to access an Algo hot wallet… Read More

October 5, 2019 @ 11:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Florida’s regulatory authorities are investigating Karatbars, a German firm that’s been promoting a crypto token linked to a Miami “crypto bank,” which does not have a banking license. Karatbars previously launched a cryptocurrency that the company claimed was backed by gold. In addition to developing… Read More

September 27, 2019 @ 11:53 am By JD Alois  |  

Fraud takes place daily in the financial services industry. Crowdfund Insider reads about it every single day. It is just a fact of life. There will always be a miscreant somewhere looking to separate good money from good people. That is why the industry must… Read More

September 26, 2019 @ 9:58 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Scammers have already cloned Bakkt blog materials to create a fake interface, bakktlaunch.com, which they are using to trick Bakkt enthusiasts into sending crypto. It should be noted that the bakktlaunch.com page contains two links that may be malware bearing. Extreme caution is advised. Bakkt is the… Read More

September 21, 2019 @ 12:01 pm By Cali Haan  |  

BBC Sounds has started airing a series of audio documentaries about the disappearance of Dr. Ruja Ignatova, the “CryptoQueen” co-founder of OneCoin, a multibillion-dollar global cryptocurrency scheme that may have defrauded up to 3 million people. In the series, journalist Jamie Bartlett documents his on the… Read More

September 19, 2019 @ 10:19 am By Cali Haan  |  

Australian police have “dismantled” a cybercrime syndicate that used cryptocurrencies to purchase “fraudulently-obtained identities” on Dark Net markets and then use these identities to open bank accounts and drain victims’ retirement savings. According to a release from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), “Investigations have… Read More

September 18, 2019 @ 11:33 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed civil charges against a “long-time” Florida securities lawyer accused of aiding and abetting”  an alleged $322 million USD securities fraud. Criminal charges were laid simultaneously September 17th against Attorney Jan Douglas Atlas, 74 of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The… Read More

September 18, 2019 @ 5:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

ICO Securities Fraud The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has continued its long march of enforcement actions regarding initial coin offerings (ICO) and the platforms that supported them. According to the SEC, ICOBox and founder Nikolay Evdokimov conducted an “illegal $14 million securities offering of… Read More

September 17, 2019 @ 2:16 am By Cali Haan  |  

On a tip from authorities in China, police in the Philippines have arrested 277 people they believe pervaded a cryptocurrency scam that defrauded at least 1000 Chinese nationals, Business Inquirer reports. The scheme reportedly emanated from a company called Golden Millennial Quickpay Inc. Ltd., an offshore… Read More

September 16, 2019 @ 11:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

Reg CF [Regulation Crowdfunding], the smallest of the three crowdfunding exemptions created by the bi-partisan JOBS Act of 2012, became officially actionable in May of 2016. In that time, hundreds of issuers have raised money on FINRA regulated “funding portals” taking advantage of the internet… Read More

September 11, 2019 @ 1:52 am By Cali Haan  |  

Police in Portugal have arrested five members of a criminal gang accused selling counterfeit euros for cryptocurrencies via websites on the Dark Net, Reuters reports. The group’s alleged “ringleader” has now been extradited from Colombia to Portugal to face charges. According to police, during the… Read More

September 5, 2019 @ 9:05 pm By Cali Haan  |  

More crypto action in Thailand this week as a man alleged to have worked as part of a Thai-Vietnamese gang that defrauded investors “in at least 10 Asian nations” via cryptocurrencies was arrested while recreating on a Bangkok soccer field Wednesday, The Bangkok Post reports…. Read More

September 3, 2019 @ 10:20 am By Cali Haan  |  

A man named Darren Carter has been charged with Identity Theft 1st Degree in Connecticut for stealing a man’s phone in California and then using it to access that victim’s Coinbase cryptocurrency account to steal $15,472.31 USD. The Westport Police Department alleges that Carter stole… Read More

August 31, 2019 @ 1:28 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A Seattle woman and former Amazon Web Services employee accused of stealing personal data from credit card-issuer Capital One and 30 other companies also used victim’s servers to mine cryptocurrency, prosecutors in the State of Washington allege. Paige Thompson is accused of accessing victims’ servers… Read More

August 29, 2019 @ 12:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled charges with Bitqyck Inc. and its founders, Bruce Bise and Sam Mendez. The SEC alleges that Biqyck and its founders defrauded investors and operated an unregistered exchange. Bitqyck also created and maintained its own online trading platform… Read More

August 29, 2019 @ 2:37 am By Cali Haan  |  

Three defendants who used “deceptive” marketing practices to pervade cryptocurrency “chain referral schemes” called “Bitcoin Funding Team” and “My7Network,” as well as a fourth man who also falsely promoted “Jetcoin,” have settled with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The men, Thomas Dluca, Louis Gatto, Eric… Read More

August 28, 2019 @ 1:34 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A judge in Southwark, England, has seized $900 000 in Bitcoins from confessed prolific hacker Grant West, 27, once described as a “one-man cybercrime wave,” The Guardian reports. The judge reportedly warned West that he would face an additional four years in prison if he… Read More

August 27, 2019 @ 6:27 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Two young men from Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver, have been charged with wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft after allegedly conning an Oregon woman out of bitcoins worth $233,220 USD at current prices. Between October 2017 and August 2018, Karanjit Singh Khatkar,… Read More