Bitcoin Thief Fined $ 572 Million

A British national has been fined $ 572 million for defrauding people and taking more than 20,000 bitcoins in total. But authorities have not yet captured the person involved.

The U.S. Commodities and Futures Commission (CFTC) announced a ruling against Manchester-born Benjamin Reynolds. According to a ruling by the southern New York District Attorney's office, Reynolds will pay about $ 143 million to victims for his Bitcoin fraud and $ 429 million in fines.

Collected 22,190 Bitcoins

Reynolds announced that he had established a company called Control-Finance, which includes master traders. Investors who entrusted their portfolio to this team thought that their money would fold and they would get guaranteed earnings.

The site, set up by scammers, has spread with ads, referral programs, campaigns and bonuses. Between May October 2017, more than 1,000 people from around the world,169 of whom were American citizens, sent 22,190,542 Bitcoins to this site.

The current value of Bitcoins, which amounted to $ 143 million at the time, exceeds $ 1.2 billion.

He transferred the money to his own account

It turned out that Reynolds ' claims were unfounded and that investors did not have a team of traders managing their portfolios. Investors who expect to make money by October 2017 at the latest have not received any payments until that date.

According to the CFTC, Reynolds transferred money promised to users to his personal account. Investors have lost all their Bitcoins.

Reynolds, who was fined a total of $ 572 million as a result of the crime he committed, was barred from markets that were under the supervision of the CFTC.