The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the American stock market policeman, has indicted 11 contributors to Forsage, a project described as a “cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.” This scam allegedly raised over $300 million from millions of retail investors worldwide.
The SEC attacks a crypto-Ponzi
The Securities and Exchange Commission said it had indicated 11 people “for their role in creating and promoting Forsage, a fraudulent crypto pyramid, and Ponzi scheme.” According to the US stock Market Constable, Forsage has raised over $300 million from million retail investors worldwide.
Among the 11 people charged are the four founders of Forsage and three US-based promoters of the system. Finally, the SEC also allegedly identified “several members of what is known as the Crypto Crusaders-the largest system-promoting group that operated in the United States.”
The identities of the four co-founders were quickly found. They are Vladimir Okhotnikov, Jane Doe, Mikhail Sergeev, and Sergey Maslakov. They launched the Forsage.io site in January 2020, with the initial goal of being “the first decentralized mart-contracts platform for businesses.”
For information, some regulators have already tried to prevent Forsage from operating in their jurisdictions. These include the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2020 and the Montana Securities and Insurance Commissioner in March 2021. However, Forsage continued operations, denying the allegations in various press releases and youtube videos.
