The indictment unsealed in US District Court Newark New Jersey, names Matthew Brent Goettsche, Jobadiah Sinclair, and Silviu Balaci are accused of conspiring to commit wire fraud. If convicted for running a Ponzi scheme, each man faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
“High-tech Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of hundreds of millions of dollars.”
The US Attorney Craig Carpenito said that what these five men allegedly did amounts to little more than a modern, high-tech Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims of hundreds of millions of dollars. The indictment alleged that five men operated BitClub Network from April 2014 to this month, which was built on soliciting money from people in exchange for shares of purported cryptocurrency mining pools and on rewarding investors on bringing new clients.
The group targeted typical MLM investors.
According to the indictment, Balaci told Goettsche that their target audience would be “typical dumb multi-level-marketing investor.” The complaint further alleges that Goettschi told Balaci that they are building this whole model on the “backs of idiots” and that to prove the mining just means convincing the morons. If convicted, the defendants, in this case, face maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the fraud conspiracy count.
