三人被控利用數字加密貨幣詐騙，涉案金額達7.22億美元

美國新澤西州的律師克雷格·卡佩尼托在一份聲明中稱：三名男子被控涉及金額達7.22億美元的數字加密貨幣欺詐，堪稱“高科技龐氏騙局”。

檢察官說，三名被告自2014年起經營BitClub Network至本月，主要業務是向投資者籌集資金購買所謂的數字加密貨幣采礦池份額，如果能夠拉到新投資者加入還可以獲得獎勵。

卡佩尼托的聲明稱，37歲的馬修·布倫特·格茨切、38歲的喬巴迪亞·辛克萊·韋克斯和49歲的約瑟夫·弗蘭克·阿貝爾于12月10日被捕，被控串謀罪。另有兩名被告仍然在逃，其姓名尚未披露。

根據聲明，格茨切將潛在的BitClub Network投資者稱為“笨蛋”和“羊”，稱“整個模式的基礎就是傻子多。”檢察官稱，2017年9月，格茨切向同謀發了一封電子郵件，稱BitClub Network能夠讓他“暴富退休！！！”。

格茨切和韋克斯被控串謀詐騙電匯，而三名男子均被控串謀出售未經注冊的證券。

目前記者尚未聯系上三名被告的代理律師。卡佩尼托在聲明中說，律師于12月10日出庭。

本案名為格茨切公訴案件，編號19-cr-00877，新澤西州（紐瓦克市）美國地方法院。（財富中文網）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

Three men were charged with helping run a $722 million cryptocurrency fraud that amounted to a “high-tech Ponzi scheme,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito in New Jersey said in a statement.

Prosecutors said that, from 2014 until this month, the defendants operated BitClub Network, which solicited money from investors in exchange for shares in purported cryptocurrency mining pools and rewarded them for recruiting new investors.

Matthew Brent Goettsche, 37, Jobadiah Sinclair Weeks, 38, and Joseph Frank Abel, 49, were arrested on December 10 and charged with conspiracy, according to Carpenito’s statement. Two more defendants, whose names weren’t disclosed, remain at large.

According to the statement, Goettsche referred to potential BitClub Network investors as “dumb” and “sheep,” saying he was “building this whole model on the backs of idiots.” In September 2017, Goettsche sent an email to a co-conspirator in which he suggested BitClub Network would allow him to “retire RAF!!! (rich as f*ck),” prosecutors said.

Goettsche and Weeks are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while all three men are facing charges of conspiracy to sell unregistered securities.

Lawyers representing the three named defendants couldn’t immediately be located. They’re expected to appear in court on December 10, Carpenito said in the statement.

The case is U.S. v. Goettsche, 19-cr-00877, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey (Newark).