In Bitcoin Arabs, we refer from time to time to stories of theft and fraud and what is happening in the world in terms of cryptocurrency-related crimes, so that the Arab user bites and knows how dangerous this unforgiving market is, especially beginners and those looking for a quick profit.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced last Friday that Serbia has extradited its citizen, “Antoniji Stoilkovic” to the United States to face charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering.
Stoelkovic and his partners are accused of defrauding the investors of cryptocurrencies, as they managed to seize the money of the victims, which amounted to more than $ 70 million.
According to the report, the victims came from different continents of the world.
According to the US Department of Justice, Stojelkovic and more than a dozen of his partners have created from their main bases in China, Serbia and elsewhere, more than 20 fake trading platforms.
The platforms operate under names like:
Options Rider, Bancde Options, Start Options, Dragon Mining, BTC Mining Factor, and Trinity Mining.
Through these platforms, scammers advertise binary options and cryptocurrency mining services to investors around the world.
Mr. Briak Shah, Acting US Attorney General, stated in a statement:
The $ 70 million scam spread to multiple continents, targeting US citizens and foreigners alike
We are proud to bring Mr. Stoelkovic to Dallas to face justice in an American courtroom.
The US Department of Justice will not be complacent in its battle against cybercrime.
How did Stojelkovic and his associates cheat the victims' money?
According to the US Department of Justice, Stoelikovich and his associates fraudulently advertised their binary options services as the global market leader in binary options.
They tempted the victims by paying an average of 80%, promising a 20% refund on every losing deal.
While it should have also triggered and sounded the alarm, their cryptocurrency mining platforms promised that investors would sell bitcoin at half the market price!
Thanks to mining 24-7 in installations around the world as stated by these fraudsters.
It should be noted that "Stojelkovic" and his owners did not deceive the investors through a commercial activity, as there was no commercial activity in the first place, according to the indictment issued by the Ministry of Justice.
The Ministry of Justice said the fraudulent group displayed fake numbers on its fraudulent investment portals, creating false returns on investments.
By creating a series of fake receipts and fraudulent withdrawal history records, Stoilekovic and his collaborators made investors believe that a legitimate business was in full swing.
But these alleged cryptocurrency fraudsters used the investment money to cover running costs and their personal expenses, the US Department of Justice reports.
To make their online presence convincing, Stoelikovic and his co-workers provided fake profiles that often contained feminine names and profile pictures, and went so far as to use those fake identities during group video calls with potential investors.
Scam in the crypto market continues:
The occurrence of fraud in cryptocurrency investments is common.
In early January, Intezer Labs discovered that malware in fraudulent cryptocurrency applications had infected thousands of users over the past year looking for keys to digital wallets.
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed accusations against three individuals involved in fraudulent crypto ventures related to “Start Options” and “Bitcoiin2Gen” as they drained $ 11 million from investors through fraudulent ICO offers, which we touched upon. In an article titled:
The SEC files a lawsuit against a fraudulent crypto project that has marketed a Hollywood star
And last summer, a cybersecurity firm, Group-IB, identified a fraudulent scheme to lure investors with fake testimonials from celebrities to promote fraudulent projects.
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