Jon Barry Thompson, the accused behind a $7 million cryptocurrency fraud, is expected to plead guilty for the charges brought against him by the United States prosecutors. In a letter submitted to the court, the prosecutors wrote that the parties expect to reach a disposition of this matter and respectfully request that the court set a control date in September 2020 for the entry of that disposition. Crypto scams all over the world seem to have increased with mainstream exposure to the crypto industry.
Accused scammer made false promises to victims.
Jon Bary Thompson was the principal of Volantis, a cryptocurrency escrow company, and accused of defrauding multiple customers with fraudulent schemes involving over $7 million. The prosecutors have alleged that the accused took $3 million from one of his clients between June and July 2018 after falsely assuring that the Bitcoins were held by Volantis. However, Thompson failed to deliver any digital asset to the victim and stalled the client for days. The accused also presented false account statements to the client and sent the money to a third-party entity purportedly in exchange for Bitcoin without first receiving any of the cryptocurrency.
Crypto scams surge amid the pandemic.
Cryptocurrency-related scams have seen an increase in recent times with the more mainstream exposure to the crypto industry. Earlier, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had issued a warning about the potential surge in the crypto scams amid the ongoing global pandemic. As crypto gets more and more mainstream exposure, the number of crypto-related scams are also increasing. Earlier, the Singaporean government reported a significant growth in the crypto-related ransomware attacks.
Thompson also received another $4 million from another client and never delivered the Bitcoins or returned the money, making false claims about the whereabouts. If convicted, he might face prison time of up to 60 years.
