62-year old Steve Chen, a US citizen, pleads guilty in a $147 million crypto scam. Chen pled guilty for duping more than 70,000 victims of $147 million in a crypto investment scheme.
The US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that crypto scam operator Steve Chen has agreed to plead guilty to one count conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. Steve Chen assured investors that owned $50 billion in assets, including an extensive rare gemstone mining operation throughout the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the USA.
Steve Chen is the CEO of seven companies, including US Fine Investment Arts, Inc., and GemCoin that were involved in the crypto scam. Prosecutors of this case revealed that 62-year-old Bradbury resident admitted that his company never owned any gemstone mines. The company did not make any profits beyond the sham crypto scheme. Chen further revealed that he never intended to have an initial public offering (IPO) for his company.
Like any other crypto scam operator, Steve Chen also made false promises to investors about the massive returns on their investments over a period of time. He falsely promoted his company as a successful multi-level marketing company that extracted gemstones from non-existent mines. United States Attorney Nick Hanna said that Mr. Chen’s promises to investors were as worthless as his non- existent mines and phony digital currencies.
Paul Delacourt, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Field Office, said that investing the public should be aware that cryptocurrency schemes are more prevalent and more sophisticated than ever. Prosecutors claimed that Steve Chen funneled nearly 5 million dollars of his ill-gotten gains to purchase homes and fund his gambling habit.