The United States Department of Justice has recently announced plans to liquidate $56 million worth of cryptocurrency linked to BitConnect fraud to compensate the scheme victims.
This was announced on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, through the office of Public Affairs of the US Department of Justice.
The report revealed that the BitConnect scheme is the largest cryptocurrency fraud scheme ever charged criminally. The number one promoter of BitConnect, Glenn Arcaro has pleaded guilty to participating in a massive crypto fraud inducing Investors in the United States and abroad to lose over $2 billion in the fraud scheme.
Glenn is currently facing a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars, his sentencing will take place on Jan. 7, 2022. The US Government “will maintain custody of the seized proceeds in cryptocurrency wallets and intends to use these funds to provide restitution to the victims pursuant to a future restitution order by the court at sentencing”. He has been ordered to pay $24 million to BitConnect’s victims.
Created in 2017, BitConnect promoters lured investors with promises of mouth-watering returns, enticing them to use Bitcoin as collateral against which they could borrow and trade the platform’s native token. The lending platform closed its operations in 2018 after cease and desist orders from the US state regulators, leaving many investors unable to redeem their crypto holdings.
