US Fines UK Man $570Mln for Bitcoin Fraud Scheme - Regulator
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th March, 2021) A US court ordered a UK man to pay more than $570 million after finding he operated a bitcon fraud scheme, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a statement.
"The US District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a default judgment against Benjamin Reynolds, purportedly of Manchester, England, finding that he operated a fraudulent scheme to solicit bitcoin from members of the public and misappropriated customers' bitcoin," the release said Friday.
The court requires Reynolds to pay nearly $143 million in restitution to defrauded customers and a civil penalty of $429 million, the release said.
Reynolds solicited 22,190.542 bitcoin from more than 1,000 customers worldwide, including at least 169 individuals residing in the US, the release added.