Marco Ruiz Ochoa pleaded responsible to at least one rely of conspiracy to commit wire fraud within the Southern District Court docket of New York on Sept. 27 in relation to Ponzi scheme perpetrated by the IcomTech firm. Ochoa was CEO of IcomTech from its founding in 2018 to 2019.
In keeping with a assertion from america Justice Division, IcomTech promised traders day by day returns on funding merchandise provided by the corporate, which presupposed to be a crypto mining and buying and selling firm. Promoters “hosted lavish expos” and different neighborhood occasions around the globe to draw clients. The corporate additionally issued its personal token, known as an Icom.
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The corporate allegedly didn’t mine crypto, nevertheless, and traders had been unable to withdraw income they noticed accruing of their accounts. The corporate collapsed in late 2019. Expenses had been introduced towards Ochoa and different IcomTech executives in November. Ochoa faces a most sentence of 20 years in jail. U.S. Lawyer Damian Williams mentioned:
“Right now’s responsible plea sends a transparent message that we’re coming in spite of everything of those that search to use cryptocurrency to commit fraud.”
Ochoa’s plea got here a day after Pablo Rodriguez, co-founder of the AirBit Membership Ponzi, was sentenced to 12 years in jail by a distinct choose of the Southern District Court docket of New York.
CEO of cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme “IcomTech” pleads responsiblehttps://t.co/ov6BMTZ11K
— US Lawyer SDNY (@SDNYnews) September 27, 2023
Additionally on Sept. 27, the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC) introduced prices towards Mosaic Change Restricted and its CEO Sean Michael. Mosaic Change allegedly lured traders to permit it to enter into “futures, swaps, and leveraged spot transactions in cryptocurrency” on their behalf. CFTC commissioner Kristin Johnson mentioned in a assertion on the fees:
“Mosaic was in a position to commerce digital asset derivatives on BitMEX and Binance, two platforms that the CFTC has beforehand charged with, amongst different issues, failing to register as an FCM [futures commission merchant], SEF [swap execution facility], or DCM [designated contract market], and failing to implement anti-money laundering and know-your-customer procedures.”
“In accordance with our present authority, the CFTC ought to start introducing regulation to deal with gaps which will exist in these novel market buildings,” she continued.
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