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- The founder of the crypto scam My Big Coin has received a 100-month prison sentence
- Randall Crater scammed investors out of $7.6 million after claiming that his COINS were backed by gold and that he had a partnership with Mastercard
- Crater spent all the money on a luxurious lifestyle, but now has to pay it all back, and more
The founder of crypto scam My Big Coin has been handed a 100-month prison sentence and has been ordered to pay more than $7.6 million to his victims. Floridian Randall Crater, 52, was sentenced by a U.S. District Court yesterday to the lengthy spell and faces further financial penalties once restitution has been agreed upon. Crater was convicted last July of four counts of wire fraud, three counts of unlawful monetary transactions and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business after running his crypto scam for four years.
Crater Claimed COINS Were Backed by Gold
My Big Coin was established in 2013 and falsely claimed to provide virtual payment services through a fake digital currency (COINS) that were marketed to investors between 2014 and 2017 by its founder Crater and his paid promoters. The group claimed that COINS were backed by gold (Meta 1 anyone?), that the company had a partnership with Mastercard, and that the My Big Coin Exchange allowed for easy transfer of COINS to fiat currency or other cryptocurrencies. These false claims were made through various means including social media, the internet, email and text messages.
In reality however, the COINS had no valuable backing, no partnership with Mastercard and were not transferable on the My Big Coin Exchange. Nevertheless, Crater raised over $7.5 million from investors and customers, using the money to purchase a house, cars, and $1 million in antiques, art, and jewelry.
CFTC May Now Pursue Charges
In January 2018 the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused My Big Coin of being a fraud and filed civil charges against Crater and his associates for their involvement in the scheme. The civil action was temporarily put on hold in March 2019, pending the outcome of the criminal case, which has now concluded, unless Crater appeals.
Crater will have to pay back all the money he received from investors and customers, plus the as yet undetermined restitution, leaving Crater well out of pocket and, presumably, regretting his actions.
