US authorities have convicted a New York man of defrauding investors by marketing and selling fraudulent virtual currency. The 51-year-old founded My Big Coin Pay Inc., a virtual currency services company offering virtual payment services through a fraudulent digital currency called ‘My Big Coins’.
During 2014-17, the convict misrepresented and marketed this fraudulent digital currency to investors. He made several false claims about his ‘digital currency’ on social media, websites, emails, and text messages. Some of the false claims were that the digital currency was backed by gold, oil, and other valuable assets, that My Big Coin had a partnership with MasterCard, and that the digital currency was readily transferable into fiat currency.
Through this scheme, the convict misappropriated over $6 million of investor funds, using them to purchase antiques, artwork and jewelry. He will receive his sentence on October 27, 2022.
Source: US Department of Justice