By The CFTC of the United States has reportedly taken action against $147 million bitcoin fraudulent case as per the report surfaced on 18th June. The regulators have filed a lawsuit against a British man who was running a $1447 million Ponzi scheme to defraud Bitcoin investors.
The alleged Briton Benjamin Reynolds is the owner of UK based fraudulent crypto investment company Control-Finance Limited. As per the complaint filed, he has taken 22,858 bitcoins at the beginning of 2017, by exploiting the public interested in Bitcoin. He lured the customers to invest in his company but in truth made no trades on their behalf and used their bitcoin deposits misappropriate.
He used to show false account balance to the customers reflecting profit figures that do not exist. He also fabricated weekly trade reports of the trade that never took place. If any client wished to withdraw his account, he would illegally divert bitcoin from others account to make the payment. For all these crimes, he will be facing civil monetary penalties that include a permanent ban on trading and registration and compensation.
Control Finance had always encouraged their customers to buy bitcoin using cash and deposit it with them. They also had promised about daily profits through trades by their experienced traders. But all these never happen in reality. The company also encouraged the client to invite their family and friend to the platform and earn a referral bonus.
Last year the website of Control Finance went missing without informing anything to the clients; they even deleted their profiles from the social media. They also promised the client they will give their money back by the end of 2017, but the criminals laundered all the Bitcoins of the innocent investors.
The head of enforcement of CFTC, James McDonald, has told they will continue to keep a close watch on the Bitcoin market and the fraudulent activities surrounding it, like the one mentioned above. He further said the fraudulent activities can hinder innovation and can also harm the customers if they are left unrestricted. He has also advised the digital currency enthusiast to invest and trade with attentiveness and with proper research.
