{"id":1054179,"date":"2021-09-01T22:13:41","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T02:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/bitconnect-promoter-pleads-guilty-over-ponzi-scheme-as-platform-faces-new-sec-charges"},"modified":"2021-09-01T22:13:41","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T02:13:41","slug":"bitconnect-promoter-pleads-guilty-over-ponzi-scheme-as-platform-faces-new-sec-charges","status":"publish","type":"station","link":"https:\/\/platodata.io\/plato-data\/bitconnect-promoter-pleads-guilty-over-ponzi-scheme-as-platform-faces-new-sec-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitconnect promoter pleads guilty over Ponzi scheme, as platform faces new SEC charges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Former director and promoter of the notorious Bitconnect Ponzi scheme, Glenn Arcaro, has pled guilty to fraud charges related to his role in the now-defunct crypto exchange and lending platform<\/p>\n

He has been ordered to pay back $24 million to investors.<\/p>\n

In a parallel action in the long-running saga the United States Securities and Exchange Commission<\/a> (SEC) has charged Bitconnect, its founder Satish Kumbhani, former director Arcaro, and Future Money Ltd. over the scheme. The defendants are accused of running a fraudulent, unregistered securities offering that netted $2 billion. <\/p>\n

The latest developments come three years after BitConnect shut down<\/a> its lending platform and crypto exchange in light of warnings from Texas and North Carolina regulators. <\/p>\n

Bitconnect has been widely accused of being a Ponzi scheme, and the scheme lives on in countless memes.<\/p>\n

‘Fraudulent marketing’<\/h3>\n

According to a Sept.1 release from the Department of Justice (DoJ), Arcaro pled<\/a> guilty to charges alleging conspiracy to commit wire fraud. <\/p>\n

The Los Angeles resident admitted to conspiring with \u201cothers\u201d to exploit investors by \u201cfraudulently marketing\u201d BitConnect\u2019s coin offering and crypto trading platform as a highly profitable investment. <\/p>\n

The 44-year-old also admitted to misleading investors about the \u201cBitConnect Trading Bot\u201d and \u201cVolatility Software\u201d as being able to generate large profits and guaranteed returns by using investor funds to trade on the volatility of crypto markets. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn truth, BitConnect operated a textbook Ponzi scheme by paying earlier BitConnect investors with money from later investors,\u201d the DoJ release read. <\/p>\n

Arcaro is said to have operated a large network of promoters in North America that formed a pyramid scheme dubbed the \u201cBitconnect Referral Program.\u201d He earned around 15% per investment into BitConnect\u2019s lending program, while he also received a cut from all investments via a hidden \u201cslush\u201d fund. <\/p>\n

The former promoter admitted to earning around $24 million from his fraudulent activities and has been ordered to pay back the full amount to investors. <\/p>\n

\u201cArcaro capitalized on the emergence of cryptocurrency markets, enticing innocent investors worldwide to get in early by promising them guaranteed returns, and exploiting the internet and social media to reach a larger pool of victims with greater ease and speed,\u201d said Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner of the IRS Criminal Investigation\u2019s (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/em><\/strong> Crypto is too big to exist outside of public policies, warns SEC chair<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

New SEC charges<\/h3>\n

The SEC charges announced today are aimed at BitConnect, founder Satish Kumbhani, former director Arcaro and Future Money Ltd \u2014 a firm incorporated by Arcaro in Hong Kong. <\/p>\n

According to Sept. 1 complaint<\/a>, the SEC alleges that the defendants conducted a fraudulent and unregistered securities offering via BitConnect\u2019s lending platform between 2017 and 2018, that generated approximately 325,000 Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) worth $2 billion at the time. <\/p>\n

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Today, we announced that we have filed an action against an online crypto lending platform, its founder, and its top U.S. promoter and his affiliated company. 
 
They allegedly defrauded retail investors out of $2 billion!
 
More:https:\/\/t.co\/gO10Ag0tfh<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/XghdUBqaCz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 SEC (@SECGov) September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The complaint asserts that users were duped into investing in the lending platform via claims that BitConnect\u2019s trading bot would produce guaranteed returns of 40% a month, and accused BitConnect of posting \u201cfictitious returns\u201d on the website equating to an average of 1% per day, or 3,700% annually. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese claims were a sham. As Defendants knew or recklessly disregarded, BitConnect did not deploy investor funds for trading with its purported Trading Bot. Rather, BitConnect and Kumbhani siphoned investors\u2019 funds off for their own benefit and their associates\u2019 benefit.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The SEC notes that the whereabouts of BitConnect\u2019s founder Kumbhani is currently unknown. <\/p>\n

The SEC is seeking a full disgorgement of funds, the enjoinment of the defendants from violating securities laws in the future, and civil monetary penalties. <\/p>\n

In May the SEC charged six other BitConnect promoters<\/a> for their role in the alleged insecurities offering, and Cointelegraph reported on July 8 that the SEC had closed in on settlements with four of the six individuals<\/a>. <\/p>\n