Bitconnect
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/bitconnect-founder-indicted-global-24-billion-cryptocurrency-scheme - Feb 25 2022
BitConnect Founder Indicted in Global $2.4 Billion Cryptocurrency Scheme
A federal grand jury in San Diego returned an indictment today charging the founder of BitConnect with orchestrating a global Ponzi scheme. BitConnect is an alleged fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform that reached a peak market capitalization of $3.4 billion.
According to court documents, Satish Kumbhani, 36, of Hemal, India, the founder of BitConnect, misled investors about BitConnect’s “Lending Program.” Under this program, Kumbhani and his co-conspirators touted BitConnect’s purported proprietary technology, known as the “BitConnect Trading Bot” and “Volatility Software,” as being able to generate substantial profits and guaranteed returns by using investors’ money to trade on the volatility of cryptocurrency exchange markets. As alleged in the indictment, however, BitConnect operated as a Ponzi scheme by paying earlier BitConnect investors with money from later investors. In total, Kumbhani and his co-conspirators obtained approximately $2.4 billion from investors.