Earlier on Tuesday, the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation], arrested Rhode Island crypto trader Jeremy Spence on allegations that his “Coin Signals” cryptocurrency funds bilked investors of $5 Mln between Nov. 2017 & April 2019.
The 24-year-old proprietor of a min. of three cryptocurrency funds illicitly ran their value into the bottom, losing several dollars for 170 investors. Spence tried to cover his losses by funneling over $2 Mln of newcomers’ Bitcoin [BTC, -1.53%] along with Ethereum [ETH, -1.46%] positions to old-timers within a “Ponzi-like” fashion, consistent with a complaint unsealed Tuesday in court.
He also fabricated account balances to point out Coin Signals investors within the green, prosecutors alleged. Spence once falsely told his investors they were up 148% in a single month, consistent with the complaint.
While in so, prosecutors alleged Spence committed commodities fraud and wire fraud. Those charges could add up to 30 years in federal prison if prosecutors secure a conviction and max permissible sentence.
Spence’s cryptocurrency funds have landed him in coverage earlier also. In 2018, cryptocurrency lawyer David Silver of Silver Miller Law filed a lawsuit over the trader’s alleged Ponzi scheme on behalf of twenty-two Coin Signals investors. Miller secured a summary judgement & $2.9 Mln in damages against Spence earlier in mid-December.
“We are pleased that after nearly 2 years, the govt has finally indicted Mr. Spence to hold him accountable to his several victims, Silver added. “The real question remains, where are the stolen bitcoin? My clients would prefer a return of their bitcoin more than the unsatisfied $3,000k Judgment.”
![U.S Department of Justice Reveals A Fraud Case Against 'Eastern Metal Securities’ [EMS].](https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_120/https://www.etherdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/imageedit_193_5494980853-120x86.jpg)
