A man from Northborough, Massachusetts pleaded guilty to being involved in a series of scams that raised over $ 600.000 targeting the elderly and the most vulnerable.
New case of Bitcoin scams and money laundering
Appealing to the Worcester Federal Court in Massachussets, Austin Nedved also admitted that he laundered the proceeds of such scams via peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchanges and other crimes.
In a US Department of Justice press release, the Massachusetts attorney's office said Nedved admitted to managing an account for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.quotation BTC), on LocalBitcoins.com and Paxful.com.
From 2017 to 2019 he worked to carry out scams based on deceptions or fake lotteries, carefully choosing "vulnerable victims". “Despite knowing or intentionally unaware that his customers were victims of fraud, Nedved sold them bitcoins so they could send money overseas to his fellow scammers,” the report wrote.
Maximum penalty of 20 years for the scammer who confessed to the crime
In some of these scams, victims were persuaded to send money overseas to people they were convinced there was a sentimental or romantic understanding, while in fake lottery scams, victims were tricked into thinking they could get big money. winnings from a lottery or government grant by sending funds for administrative expenses or fees.
In one case, Nedved helped a 78-year-old victim send bitcoins by fueling a false prospect of marriage to a man named "Jonathan G." who traded in the oil sector and who, hit by a moment of crisis, asked for economic help.
On June 25, 2018, the victim met Nedved in a parking lot and gave him a cashier's check to buy around $ 100.000 in bitcoin. Days later, Nedved and a co-scammer took another $ 40.000 from the victim.
In total, Nedved and his co-scammers converted more than $ 630.000 of the victims' cash into bitcoin, knowing the funds were the proceeds of scams and other illegal activities, according to the US Department of Justice report.
While in some cases the bitcoin was returned to the money providers, in others it was sent to "unidentified third parties". Nedved was charged with aiding and abetting telematic fraud and criminal association for money laundering, both sentences of up to 20 years in prison, plus fines. The case serves as a further reminder to be extra careful and very thorough when handing over funds for cryptocurrency purchases or investments.
