BOSTON โ The founder of a cryptocurrency and virtual payment services company that authorities say duped dozens of investors out of about $7.5 million, which he used to buy a house, cars, jewelry and other luxuries, has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison. prison.
Randall Crater, 52, founded Las Vegas-based My Big Coin Pay Inc. in 2013, offering virtual payment services through a fraudulent digital currency, My Big Coin, from 2014 to 2017, the MD's office said. federal prosecutor in Boston in a statement Tuesday. .
Crater and the associates he paid to promote the scheme via social media, emails and text messages, said the coins were a fully functioning gold-backed cryptocurrency; that the company had a partnership with MasterCard; and that the currency could be exchanged for government-backed currency or other virtual currencies, neither of which was true, prosecutors said.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission alleged that My Big Coin was a fraud in January 2018.
The 55 Crater victims had to delay retirement, lost tuition money and suffered other financial difficulties, Joseph Bonavolonta, the FBI's Boston office chief, said in a statement.
"Spreading outright lies, Randall Crater scammed dozens of victims out of more than $7.5 million, convincing them that their cryptocurrency investments were backed by gold when in reality their hard-earned money went to finance their lavish lifestyle." , said.
A federal jury convicted Crater in July of wire fraud, illegal money transactions and operating an unlicensed money transmission business.
In addition to eight years and four months behind bars, Crater, of Lake Mary, Florida, was sentenced to three years probation, ordered to forfeit more than $7.5 million and pay restitution in an amount to be determined.
