(Bloomberg) – A UK man accused of scamming more than 20,000 Bitcoin users has been ordered to pay him $ 571 million in penalties.
But collecting the money could be tricky as U.S. authorities do not appear to know the whereabouts of the fraudster, Benjamin Reynolds.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced the sanctions in a statement Friday, saying a March 2 order issued by a federal court in Manhattan required Reynolds to pay a $ 429 million fine and nearly $ 143 million. million in relocation.
Reynolds, who was said to be from Manchester, England, demanded the Bitcoin from consumers between May 2017 and October 2017, telling them he would trade the tokens in virtual currency markets to increase profits, the CFTC. In fact, he did not make any trades on behalf of clients and did not make any money for them, according to the regulator. The Bitcoin he acquired was worth $ 143 million at the time and the alleged scam stopped nearly 170 buyers residing in the U.S., the CFTC said.
The order issued earlier this month by New York’s Southern District said Reynolds did not “reveal or respond” to a CFTC complaint after the group went to law in January. 2019. In its statement, the CFTC warned victims that readmission orders may not lead to the recovery of assets because offenders may not have enough money to pay.
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