• Randall Crater, founder of a multi-million dollar fraudulent crypto scheme, was sentenced to 8 years by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Massachusetts.
• The team amassed $7.6 million and spent it on a house, cars, and other luxurious items.
• Crater was earlier convicted on four counts of wire fraud, three counts of unlawful monetary transactions, and one count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business by a federal jury in July 2022.
Randall Crater, the founder of a multi-million dollar fraudulent crypto scheme, was sentenced to 8 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Massachusetts. The team amassed $7.6 million and spent it on a house, cars, and other luxurious items. This came after Crater was earlier convicted on four counts of wire fraud, three counts of unlawful monetary transactions, and one count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business by a federal jury in July 2022.
My Big Coin was a fraudulent cryptocurrency company that was founded by Crater in 2013 and falsely marketed it as a cryptocurrency payment service, enticing victims between 2014 and 2017. The coins on My Big Coin were fully functional cryptocurrencies, backed by gold and affiliated the platform with Mastercard. Crater claimed to the investors that the coins were backed by gold and were exchangeable for US dollars and other fiat currencies through the My Big Coin Exchange.
Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, said: „Spreading outright lies, Randall Crater defrauded dozens of victims out of more than $7.5 million, convincing them their cryptocurrency investments were backed by gold when in reality their hard-earned money went to funding his lavish lifestyle.“
Crater and his marketing team spent a large chunk of the $7.6 million on a house, several cars, and over $1 million on antiques, artwork, and jewelry. Crater was ordered to pay more than $7.6 million to victims of his fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. He was also sentenced to 100 months in prison in addition to the eight-year sentence.
The U.S. Department of Justice issued a press release on 31 January, which stated that My Big Coin founder Randall Crater was sentenced to 100 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Massachusetts. This sentence will serve as an example to those who attempt to defraud investors and use cryptocurrencies to their own advantage.