The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seeking to contact investors in alleged ponzi scheme Bitconnect (BCC) that collapsed in January last year, a news statement confirmed on Feb. 20.
As part of ongoing investigations into the activities of the well-known but shadowy scheme, the Cleveland branch of the U.S. law enforcement agency appealed to ex-investors to give information about their interaction with Bitconnect.
A dedicated questionnaire is already available online, Special Agent Vicki D. Anderson explaining that responses would assist investigators in identifying those affected by monetary loss.
“The FBI is seeking potential victims who invested in the cryptocurrency Bitconnect coin (BCC), which was first released through an initial coin offering orchestrated by Bitconnect in November 2016,” she explained in the statement, adding:
“Your responses are voluntary and would be useful in the federal assessment of this matter and to identify you as a BCC investor and/or potential victim.”
The questionnaire requires the respondent to provide information such as how they first heard of Bitconnect, how much they invested and their access username.
As Cointelegraph reported, Bitconnect gained an almost mythical status among the plethora of initial coin offerings (ICO) which operated until the market crashed last year. Organizers’ lavish publicity events included bizarre entertainment for attendees, most notable of which were appearances by spokesperson Carlos Matos that subsequently went viral.
At its peak, BCC had a market cap of $2.5 billion, but the coin no longer trades or lists on exchanges. In January, Australian authorities imposed a travel ban on a one-time promoter of Bitconnect.