AirBIT Ponzi Operators Got Charged With Fraud And Money Laundering

AirBit ponzi scheme operators were charged with fraud and money laundering as they spent their earnings on luxury cars, real estate, jewelry rather than crypto mining, and trading so let’s find out more in the upcoming cryptocurrency news today.

The AirBit ponzi scheme operators were charged after the United States Homeland Security Investigations probe and according to the announcement from the US Department of Justice, four out of five alleged operators of the club netted tens of millions of dollars from victims. They were arrested and are now due to appear in court while the fifth person was arrested in Panama and is now awaiting extradition in the United States.

The scheme was launched in 2015 and sold as a multi-level marketing club in the crypto industry. The defendants hosted lavish presentations to encourage the investors to part with cash and they promised daily high returns from crypto mining and trading. With the online portal for investors that show these profits increasing, there was no crypto mining or trading taking place. The scammers instead, spent their cash on luxury goods and real estate and even financed extravagant presentations to lure in more victims.

Back in 2016, club members that wanted to withdraw proceeds were met with excuses and delays and fees, which ended up in telling the members to have to recruit new ones if they wanted to receive the returns. The defendants tried to conceal the scheme and their involvement by requesting membership payments in cash, laundering about $20 million of proceeds via multiple trusts and bank accounts, removing negative information about the scheme from the internet. As it was reported last month, one member of another crypto-based Ponzi scheme that netted $722 million pled guilty to wire fraud and selling unregistered securities.

In the recent news, we also reported about The US-DOJ executing a seizure warrant for 482 Bitcoins and an additional 1.7 million USDT from an alleged Ponzi scheme administrator. The US-DOJ, (United States Department of Justice) filed a complaint against an alleged crypto Ponzi scheme to forfeit in more than $7 million in Tether and BTC. The administrator of the scam named “Bana Fund” used some of the raised funds for personal benefit including buying a house.