Crypto Opinions & News My Big Coin Founder is – You Guessed it – a $6M Crypto-Fraudster

[upnorth]

Content source

https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/22/my_big_coin_founder_convicted/

A crook who created a business called My Big Coin to cheat victims out of more than $6 million has been found guilty by a jury.

Randall Crater, 51, of East Hampton, New York was this week convicted [PDF] of four counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. He is due to be sentenced on October 27 by a US federal judge. Each of the wire fraud charges carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, while each money laundering charge carries up to a decade behind bars. Crater founded the now-dead company in Las Vegas in 2013 and lured marks into buying a bogus virtual currency he dubbed My Big Coin. Purchased My Big Coins would apparently be stored in online accounts provided by the fraudster's outfit, and marks were told the tokens could be exchanged for other currencies and used to purchase goods and services. Between 2014 and 2017, Crater and his associates told victims not to worry as the phony cryptocurrency was backed by $300 million in gold, oil, and "other assets," according to court documents [PDF].

Crater also claimed the firm had a partnership with MasterCard, allowing it to offer the My Big Coin MasterCard. This was described as a credit card that could use funds from a customer's coin account. Prosecutors say Crater and his crew marketed all of these falsehoods via social media, the internet, email, and text messages.

In reality, however, there was no gold or other assets nor any MasterCard partnership. And the coins couldn't be readily transferred or used for anything: victims were just handing over their money.

My Big Coin founder guilty of $6m crypto-fraud

Con man blew victims' cash on antiques, artwork, other riches

www.theregister.com