Steve Chen, Gem Coin and The 147 Million Fraud

The CEO who deceived more than 72,000 people and stole 147 million dollars

The notorious California CEO who defrauded his investors and embezzled $147 million dollars in an international cryptocurrency scam was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison – according to the federal prosecutor’s office.

- Advertisement -

Steve Chen, 63, managed to deceive 72,000 investors across the world by pretending that his company, US Fine Investment Arts, mined precious metals in non-existent mines he said he owned in the US, Mexico, Argentina, and elsewhere.

The prosecution alleges that Chen was selling investors rights to shares worth $1,000-30,000 apiece, saying his company was ready to go public.

Chen later spoke to his victims of an also fake cryptocurrency, Gem Coin, which he claimed would throw into the market and take ahead at the competition, as it had all the gems back to support its value.

Chen managed between July 2013 and September 2015 to defraud tens of thousands of investors with such knitwear.

“As the main plan was to recruit more investors, rather than sell US Fine Investment Arts’s products to the retail trade, the vast majority of investors were destined to lose money, making Chen very wealthy,”

– prosecutions office

His company offered cash, travel, cars and even houses in Los Angeles to every investor who brought more people to the pyramid he had set up.

As for the cryptocurrency, “it was not in circulation in any industry, nor was it ever accepted by any trader, it had no economic value,” the prosecution office noted.

- Advertisement -

Chen pleaded guilty last June and was forced to pay more than $1.8 million in res. dollars in damages.

Previous Articles:

- Advertisement -

Latest

Bitcoin Climbs Above $105K; Signs Suggest Rally Nearing Top

Bitcoin holds above $105,000 in early week trading across Asia, though signals of “overheating” appear.CryptoQuant reports rising bitcoin demand and whale balances, with key...

GameStop Buys $512M in Bitcoin, Joins Corporate Crypto Trend

GameStop purchased 4,710 Bitcoin, valued at $512 million, as a corporate treasury asset. The company’s CEO called Bitcoin a hedge against inflation and systemic risk,...

Cryptocurrency Set to Dominate Asset Reserves by 2025

Digital assets are entering a new period of growth, with signs cryptocurrency will be prioritized for asset reserves by 2025. Fans Hash introduced mining tools...

TON Blockchain Hit by Outage, Block Production Halts Temporarily

The Open Network (TON) blockchain experienced a temporary outage on June 1, stopping block production for about 40 minutes.The issue was fixed quickly by...

Pi, IMX, ZBCN in Focus as Key Token Unlocks Threaten More Losses

The crypto market experienced a sharp drop as Bitcoin fell from $111,900 to below $104,000, resulting in widespread altcoin declines.Investors are closely watching key...

Must Read

How to Choose a Cryptocurrency Exchange: Major Risks and Expert Advice

During the bitcoin frenzy, in late 2017, Coinbase, one of the key players in the global cryptocurrency market, stopped trading operations. At a point...