Michael Ackerman faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted of fraud following his guilty plea.
Ponzi Scheme News
What is a Ponzi scheme? An illegal endeavor, Ponzi schemes essentially aim to attract and take advantage of unsuspecting investors by touting untrue claims of low risk and significant reward. Ponzi schemes typically stay afloat by using money from newer participants to pay older ones, thus making the endeavor seem profitable — so long as new participants continue flowing in.
The endeavor is named after Charles Ponzi, an Italian con artist who performed such a scheme in the 1920s in the United States, costing his investors about $20 million. Ponzi’s scam wasn’t the first of its kind, although it was one of the largest. Ponzi schemes share some commonalities with pyramid schemes, and neither of the two is legal in the United States. Bitcoin (BTC) has been called a Ponzi scheme at times over the years, although its performance and structure have proven otherwise.
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Scams make up the largest share of funds sent from Eastern Europe to illicit addresses.
2523Former BitConnect promoter Glenn Arcaro has pled guilty to his role in the saga, but the whereabouts of the firm’s founder, Satish Kumbhani, are unknown.
5322Unwitting DOGE investors were promised attractive returns of 100% in just 40 days in exchange for depositing their money.
7000The Federal Bureau of Investigation is joining the investigation into one of the largest alleged crypto scams of 2020.
3222Four of six U.S.-based promoters of the notorious BitConnect Ponzi scheme have reached settlement agreements with the SEC.
5603The SEC has appointed New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal as the Director of the Division of Enforcement.
2404AfriCrypt’s founders deny running off with billions in customers funds, asserting they went into hiding after receiving death threats from “dangerous people.”
6158Billions worth of Bitcoin has reportedly vanished along with the operators of South African crypto firm AfriCrypt. Is it a scam or a hack?
27775A new report from Elliptic has found that unregistered securities offerings account for more than half of all crypto-related fines handed out by U.S. regulators.
3523Some of those caught up in an alleged $3.6 billion crypto Ponzi scheme are refusing to aid police investigations as they still expect to triple their investments.
11436The SEC says five individuals "promoted a global unregistered digital asset securities offering."
48254I should know, I helped chase down $1 billion of his fraudulently-obtained cash.
18390The founder of the Argyle Coin Ponzi scheme has escaped paying a $4.5 million penalty to the SEC for operating a “web of fraudulent companies.”
12128Kraken Bitcoin strategist Pierre Rochard debates professor of computer science Jorge Stolfi on whether Bitcoin meets the definition of a Ponzi scheme.
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