The co-founder and head dealer of a cryptocurrency funding agency has pleaded responsible to wire fraud conspiracy fees for his position in elevating over $9 million from buyers with false guarantees of considerably excessive returns.
Wolf Capital co-founder and head dealer Travis Ford lured in round 2,800 buyers to take a position roughly $9.4 million between January and August 2023, as per a Jan. 10 assertion published by america Division of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ mentioned Ford offered himself as a “refined investor” able to producing “1-2%” every day returns, equating to a mean of roughly 547% yearly.
Traders have been lured in via social media and different on-line exercise
The DOJ mentioned Ford attracted buyers via Wolf Capital’s web site, social media, and different numerous on-line promotions. Somewhat than utilizing the funds for the promised goal, they have been redirected for the non-public monetary achieve of Ford and others concerned within the scheme.
“Ford misappropriated and diverted investor funds to profit himself and his co-conspirators, to the monetary detriment of buyers.”
The DOJ additionally mentioned that Ford “admitted” that these returns weren’t viable to “obtain persistently.”
A sentencing date has but to be scheduled, however Ford’s responsible plea to at least one rely of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a most penalty of 5 years.
A broader crackdown on international crypto scams
It comes alongside a wider crackdown by police throughout a number of jurisdictions focusing on fraudsters working crypto-related schemes worldwide.
On Jan. 5, Vietnamese police arrested 4 people concerned in a crypto mining rip-off that stole 4 billion Vietnamese dong ($157,300) from greater than 200 victims.
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In the meantime, the police division of Springfield, Massachusetts, in the US, lately alerted residents towards an uptick in Bitcoin and other crypto-related scams.
Whereas noting that scammers use quite a lot of strategies, the warning singled out crypto ATM scams:
“The scams have many alternative variations, however one particularly directs an individual to a cryptocurrency machine to insert and ship cash to the scammer.”
On Jan. 9, blockchain safety agency PeckShield reported that hackers and scammers stole over $3 billion through crypto-related activities in 2024.
Crypto hackers and scammers had stolen $400 million extra within the final 12 months than in 2023 — a roughly 15% enhance.
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