The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed charges against a Colorado native and associated investment company on fraud charges. Denver local Breonna Clark, along with Colorado-based Venture Capital Investments Ltd., face civil action from the CFTC for defrauding investors, the agency said in a statement on Feb. 14. The pair also faces charges for not achieving registration with the government agency. The accused harnessed crypto and forex to deceive investors According to the CFTC’s charges, Clark and Venture Capital Investments claimed to manage a forex and cryptocurrency trading pool, baiting United States participants into involvement with hopes of financial …

The co-founder of cryptocurrency-inspired Ponzi scheme OneCoin faces charges of fraud and money laundering in her absence — but will now become a movie star. As Hollywood news outlet Deadline reported on Feb. 4, a United States production company has won the rights to a podcast about Ruja Ignatova originally aired by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the United Kingdom. OneCoin drama plans to “get the word out” Charting the rise, fall and disappearance of Ignatova, “The Missing Cryptoqueen” saw 3.5 million downloads in four months when it went live in 2019. Now, New Regency Television will turn the …

Ugandan legislators are exploring the role of cryptocurrencies in connection with pyramid scheme frauds that are often found in the country, local newspaper PML Daily reported on Feb. 4. While legislators are moving forward with a proposal to criminalize Ponzi schemes, cryptocurrencies may come under fire as well. Speaking at the parliament, the State Minister of Finance David Bahati revealed that the government has established a task force to explore cryptocurrencies and their potential applications in Uganda. The task force will also focus on global industry 4.0 trends that could result in major developments for the country and region. Though …

Two men have been charged over an alleged crypto trading Ponzi scheme lured investors, including professional baseball players, with social media posts boasting about their luxurious lifestyles. On January 30, the United States Secret Service arrested the Arizona-based founders of Zima Digital Assets, John Michael Caruso, aged 28, and Zachary Salter, aged 27. Caruso commonly refers to himself as "Krypto King" in social media posts and claims he’s been a cryptocurrency investor since 2012. He has a criminal history and was last released from prison in late 2017. Salter is an aspiring R&B singer who releases music under the name …

Research conducted by the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) of the Atlantic Council think tank suggests that the infamous cryptocurrency-themed Ponzi scheme OneCoin used fake reviews on TrustPilot and Quora to lure investors. According to a report published on Jan. 29, OneCoin received an anomalous number of five-star reviews on TrustPilot after the media started negatively covering OneCoin in October 2019. OneCoin’s TrustPilot reviews over time. Source: DFRLab Per the report, of the 579 TrustPilot reviews of OneCoin, 90% were positive and about 400 of the five-star ratings were published in a single month. DFRLab states that OneCoin also received …

Over 5,000 victims of the alleged cryptocurrency pyramid scheme Dunamiscoins have petitioned the Ugandan Parliament asking to refund money lost in the scam. Arthur Asiimwe, the leader of the petitioning group who presented the request to the Parliament's speaker Rebecca Kadaga, claims that the government has licensed the alleged scam firm, according to an official announcement by the Parliament of Uganda on Jan. 16. Dunamiscoins victims are not satisfied with investigation results First spotted in early December 2019, Dunamiscoins is allegedly involved in defrauding over 10,000 people, causing them losses of around $2.7 million. The apparent scam company reportedly closed …

A human rights lawyer representing victims of an alleged cryptocurrency pyramid scheme in Thailand is taking their case to the country’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI). The Bangkok Post reported on Jan. 16 that roughly 20 victims, whose losses are alleged to total 75 million baht (~$2.5 million), are seeking to go beyond the investigations of local police in Thailand’s Krabi province given the gravity of the case. The DSI, a department of the Thai Ministry of Justice, works independently of the Thai Royal Police force and is tasked with the investigation of “special cases,” such as those involving organized …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is having trouble locating Benjamin Reynolds, who is allegedly responsible for a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme worth over $140 million. Financial news outlet FinanceFeeds reported on Jan. 6 that the CFTC has filed a motion with the New York Southern District Court. More precisely, the regulator filed for the service of process on Reynolds by publication on The Daily Telegraph and extending for sixty days the time limit by which the service must be effected on him and his firm. A major Bitcoin ponzi scheme In mid-June, the CFTC launched action against the …

Disappointment isn’t always a bad thing. It can be a spur, motivating one to work harder to meet expectations and goals. It is in this spirit that Cointelegraph informally surveyed members of the crypto community about this past year’s unfulfilled industry promises. Here are some of 2019’s biggest disappointments: Adoption missing? Where are the giant blockchain or crypto projects — enterprises that seize the imagination, rivet the public’s attention, and quiet the crypto skeptics? As Nouriel Roubini noted last year, “[Blockchain] still has only one application: cryptocurrencies.” Many in the industry are still waiting. As Lanre Sarumi, CEO of crypto …

United States authorities in New Jersey have announced the arrest of three men who are accused of defrauding investors of over $722 million as part of alleged crypto ponzie scheme BitClub Network, per a Dec. 10 announcement from the Department of Justice. The accusations against BitClub Network According to the press release, BitClub Network promised massive rates of return in exchange for investments in a shared cryptocurrency mining pool. The parties at the center of the scheme then allegedly misappropriated over $722 million of those funds into their own lavish living rather than the promised mining pool. Authorities further accuse …

An alleged cryptocurrency pyramid scheme in Uganda has fled after defrauding dozens of victims that invested in and worked for the scheme. Dunamiscoins Resources Limited opened in Masaka last month and started inviting individuals to invest and become part of its “digital currency network,” independent Ugandan newspaper Daily Monitor reports Dec. 5. The firm’s offices closed down covertly just a month after opening, with employees reportedly coming to the office to find it empty. Dunamiscoins required employees to pay to start work A businessman who worked next to Dunamiscoins’ closed offices reportedly said that Dunamiscoins was convincing people to join …

In the last week of November, the saga of an alleged crypto Ponzi scheme that has been lingering for more than half a year took a new turn. A hobbyist blockchain researcher reported on Twitter that he’d tracked almost 200,000 BTC that had gone missing over the summer, when several million people invested in PlusToken — a South Korea-based exchange and a high-yield investment program — found themselves unable to withdraw their money. The researcher suggested that the embezzled funds have been gradually dumped on crypto exchanges, potentially suppressing Bitcoin market price. Here’s what is known about the monumental scheme …