The Unitedย States Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged a Nevada man for his role in the multi-million-dollar CoinDeal financing scheme.
In a recentย press release, the DOJ stated Bryan Lee conspired with CoinDeal leader Neil Chandran to defraud 10,000 investors out of $45 million.
The Nevada resident reportedly misled customers to invest in corporations controlled by Chandran by claiming that they were about to be acquired by buyers with deep pockets.
โChandran allegedly misled investors by falsely promising incredibly high returns on the premise that his corporations were about to be acquired by a consortium of wealthy buyers,โ the notice said.ย
Furthermore, the DOJ alleged that Lee was the nominee owner and director of ViMarket, which claimed to be developing VR and โmetaverseโ technologies and an associated cryptocurrency.ย
Althoughย while Chandran promised โ incredibly high returnsโ to investors, Lee followed Chandranโs instructions and put investor funds into ViMarketโs bank accounts, the federal agency said.ย
โLee and Chandran allegedly misappropriated millions of dollars of investor funds and spent it on high-end cars and real estate.โ
Lee is charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, and 3 counts of engaging in monetary transactions in the criminally derived property.ย
He faces up to 110 years in prison if convicted on all charges.ย
Itโsย worthย notingย that, Lee has not isย still been found guilty and will make his 1st appearance in court immediately.
Earlier inย theย year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alsoย chargedย 5 individuals and 3 corporations tied to CoinDeal.ย
Cryptocurrency Scams Increase as Market Grows
As the digitalย currency market persistsย to grow, so does the prevalence of scams and hacks targeting unsuspecting victims.
Onlyย aย fewย weeksย ago, it wasย revealedย that a scam-as-a-service company dubbed โInferno Drainerโ has siphoned off approximately $6 Million worth of cryptocurrency assets from users since the start of the year.ย
Similarly, a recent reportย showedย that betwixt August 2022 and May, cryptocurrency scammers made around 3,234 Ethereumย (ETH), worth over $6 Million, from fake airdrops.
Aย yearย ago, the cryptocurrency industry lostย approximately $4 Billionย worth of digital assets to hacks, fraud, scams, and rug pulls, with 5 major exploits totaling $2,361,000,000 alone, accounting for 59.8 percent of all losses in the year.ย ย
Althoughย while hacks accounted for the bulk bulkย of cryptocurrency losses in 2022, other forms of illegal activities, including scams and frauds, continued to evolve and claim more victims.ย
Forย example, some scamsย capitalized on the World Cup Qatar 2022 programย to launch phishing websites from aroundย theย world designed to steal usersโ identifying and banking data.ย
