Claims against Mirror Trading International (MTI) have reached over .5 million (ZAR1.6 billion), with more than 8,000 proven creditors as of the end of April. The MTI estate still holds around .7 million in its accounts. Legal action is underway in multiple countries to recover withdrawals made by those who profited from the scheme. MTI […]
Bitcoin News
South African Prosecutors Set to Pursue Collapsed Pyramid Scheme Co-Conspirators
South African prosecutors are reportedly investigating co-conspirators of Mirror Trading International and may charge them with fraud or forgery. The declaration of the scheme as unlawful may have strengthened the National Prosecuting Authority’s case against the masterminds of Mirror Trading International. MTI Directors May Face Charges Under the Prevention of Organized Crime Act South Africa’s […]
Bitcoin News
Investors in Collapsed Ponzi Scheme Resist Liquidator’s Attempts to Force Repayment at Current BTC Prices
Investors in the bitcoin Ponzi scheme Mirror Trading International are reportedly resisting liquidators’ attempts to have them repay digital assets withdrawn before it collapsed. According to the investors’ lawyer, MTI liquidators are intentionally misinterpreting the Insolvency Act for their benefit. Liquidators Face Accusations of Prolonging the Settlement Process A group of Mirror Trading International (MTI) […]
Bitcoin News
Report: CEO of Collapsed Crypto Investment Scheme Hyperverse May Not Exist
A probe into the affairs of the collapsed crypto fund Hyperverse has determined that its highly educated CEO may not exist. The investigation also found that before its collapse, Hyperverse and its CEO both enjoyed celebrity support.
The CEO’s Records Do Not Exist
An investigation into the circumstances that led to the collapse of the crypto venture fund Hyperverse has determined that Steven Reece Lewis, the company’s supposed CEO, may not exist. According to the findings of the probe, neither the University of Leeds nor the University of Cambridge have any record of Lewis as a graduate of their respective institutions.
The investigation, which was carried out by The Guardian Australia, also revealed that Lewis’ name cannot be found on either the U.K. companies’ register or with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Similarly, the tech firm Adobe and the financial services giant Goldman Sachs have no record of the collapsed crypto fund’s CEO.
Businessman Sam Lee and his business partner, Ryan Xu, are suspected to be the brains behind Hyperverse, but both have reportedly denied claims linking them to the collapsed firm.
Celebrity Endorsement
Besides using fake qualifications and a non-existent CEO, promoters of Hyperverse also used celebrity endorsements to give the scheme a semblance of legitimacy. Some of the celebrities who have appeared in videos endorsing both Lewis and the crypto fund are Steve Wozniak, Chuck Norris, Jim Norton, and Lance Bass.
However, in its report, the Australian publication acknowledged that the celebrities may not have been aware that Hyperverse was using videos in which they feature to promote a pyramid scheme. According to the publication, Hyperverse lured victims by promising guaranteed minimum returns of 0.5% per day to investors who bought “memberships.” The celebrity support was seemingly key to the collapsed crypto fund’s plans, the publication concluded.
Meanwhile, the publication’s findings came just a few weeks after a report suggested that investors may have lost millions of dollars to scammers behind Hyperverse. According to the blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis, investor losses are estimated to be around .3 billion.
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US Court Orders Collapsed BTC Investment Firm to Pay Over $1.7 Billion in Restitution for Forex Fraud
A United States Federal Court Judge has ordered the collapsed bitcoin investment platform Mirror Trading International to pay over .7 billion in restitution. Commodity Futures Trading Commission director of enforcement Ian McGinley said the CFTC will not hesitate to go after fraudsters who target U.S. citizens. The Commission again warned that court rulings are not a guarantee that victims will recover all their funds.
Forex Fraud Allegations
United States Federal Court Judge David A. Ezra recently ordered the now-defunct South African bitcoin investment platform Mirror Trading International (MTI) to pay over .7 billion in restitution. The order, which stems from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) June 2022 complaint, was issued after the judge determined that MTI had committed forex fraud.
According to the Commission’s Sept. 7 press statement, MTI, which is presently in liquidation, was also found liable for “registration violations and failure to comply with CPO [commodity pool operator] regulations.” Meanwhile, the statement further revealed that Judge Ezra’s order had resolved the CFTC’s case against MTI.
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the same U.S. Federal Court had previously issued a default judgment against the former MTI CEO Johann Steynberg. In addition to the restitution, the court also imposed a civil monetary penalty of .73 billion — the highest in CFTC’s history.
CFTC to Go After Fraudsters ‘Wherever They May Be’
Commenting on the court’s latest ruling, the Commission’s director of enforcement Ian McGinley said both the default judgement and the settlement with MTI demonstrate the CFTC’s resolve and willingness to take the fight to fraudsters. McGinley also warned that his organization will not hesitate to go after fraudsters who target U.S. citizens.
“Whether a scam involves fictitious electronic trading ‘bots’ or Bitcoins, as this action involving a South African entity shows, we will pursue the scam artists wherever they may be,” the CFTC official warned.
However, just as it cautioned when the default judgment against Steynberg was issued, the CFTC again warned that court rulings are not a guarantee that victims will recover their funds. The Commission said this is primarily because the accused may have “misappropriated, either directly or indirectly, all the Bitcoin they accepted from the pool participants.”
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US Senator: Signature Bank Collapsed Because It Embraced Crypto Customers Without Sufficient Safeguards
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren alleges that Signature Bank failed because it “bought into its get-rich-quick narrative” and “embraced crypto customers with insufficient safeguards.” Emphasizing that the bank took “excessive risk,” the senator demanded answers from the CEO of Signature Bank regarding “the economically disastrous outcomes you created.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Letter to Signature Bank’s CEO
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has attributed the failure of Signature Bank to its acceptance of crypto customers without having sufficient safeguards, Yahoo Finance reported Thursday. Signature Bank was seized by the New York State Department of Financial Services last Sunday, becoming the third-largest bank in the U.S. to fail.
In a letter to Signature Bank CEO Joseph DePaolo, Senator Warren wrote:
You owe your customers and the public an explanation for the economically disastrous outcomes you created: you worked hard to weaken the rules, promised that they ‘bode well’ for your bank — and then destroyed it with bad decision-making and excessive risk-taking.
“Congress and the public must learn the lessons from the failure of Signature Bank,” the senator stressed.
The lawmaker argued that Signature Bank supported efforts to curtail capital requirements stipulated in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, the publication conveyed, adding that the bank also directed thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to leaders of efforts to relax bank regulation in Congress.
“Despite assurances made to Congress that mid-sized banks like Signature Bank would be able to manage risk independently, it has since become clear that your bank was wholly unequipped to do so, and that failure resulted in the bank being shut down and taken over by government regulators,” the senator told DePaolo.
Signature Bank Allegedly ‘Embraced Crypto Customers With Insufficient Safeguards’
Senator Warren further alleged that Signature Bank took on “excessive risk” to boost its bottom line by serving crypto clients, such as the Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase, blockchain infrastructure platform Paxos, and collapsed crypto exchange FTX. By December last year, crypto clients accounted for about 30% of Signature Bank’s total deposits. Warren stated:
Signature Bank bought into its get-rich-quick narrative … Signature Bank was caught short because it embraced crypto customers with insufficient safeguards.
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were already investigating Signature Bank’s work with cryptocurrency clients before regulators took possession of the bank last Sunday. The news outlet noted that the DOJ was focusing on whether the bank had taken adequate measures to identify potential money laundering activities by its clients.
What do you think about Senator Elizabeth Warren claiming that Signature Bank collapsed because it embraced crypto clients without adequate safeguards? Let us know in the comments section below.
Collapsed Cryptopia Founder Wants You to Put Funds on His New Exchange
Adam Clark, creator of the now-defunct Cryptopia, is trying again with a new exchange. Details are slim.
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Ripple Price Technical Analysis – XRP/USD Collapsed Below $0.8000
Key Highlights
- Ripple price declined sharply and even broke the .8200 and .8000 support levels against the US dollar.
- Yesterday’s highlighted crucial bearish trend line with current resistance at .0.8000 is intact on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
- The pair is likely to decline further and it may even break the .7650 support in the near term.
Ripple price declined heavily against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. XRP/USD is currently trading below .8000 and it may continue to decline towards .7200.
Ripple Price Downtrend
There was no respite above .8500 in Ripple price against the US Dollar. The price continued to trade lower and it failed to correct above a major resistance near .8600. It fell and broke the .8200 and .8000 support levels to set the pace for more declines. It even broke the last swing low of .7869, which is a bearish sign and suggests more declines in the near term.
At the moment, the price is trading near the 1.236 Fib extension of the last wave from the .7869 low to .8778 high. It could continue to decline and it may even break the .7500 level. The next major support on the downside is around .7300. The stated level also coincides with the 1.618 Fib extension of the last wave from the .7869 low to .8778 high. On the upside, there are many resistances around the .8000 level. Moreover, yesterday’s highlighted crucial bearish trend line with current resistance at .0.8000 is intact on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair.
Overall, it seems like the price may continue to decline towards .7300. A break and close below .7300 may call for a call of .7000.
Looking at the technical indicators:
Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is currently in the bearish zone.
Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is moving lower further into the oversold levels.
Major Support Level – .7300
Major Resistance Level – .8000
Charts courtesy – Trading View
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The BitConnect Ponzi Scheme has Finally Collapsed as Exit Scam Becomes Evident
With all cryptocurrency markets tanking in value, it is evident there will be some big changes. More specifically, some currencies are all but crashing to the ground as we speak. BitConnect, the infamous Ponzi Scheme, is finally meeting its demise, by the look of things. Thanks to the recent price declines, the value of BCC dropped by over 80%. Moreover, the native exchange has closed its doors and the subReddit is turned to private. Good riddance, according to many cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
It was only a matter of time until BitConnect would finally collapse. Thousands of people bought into this scam and some of them may have even made money. Most users, however, probably never got their money out of this program whatsoever. That is only normal, as over 95% of all trades were conducted on the native BCC exchange. When a currency’s developers also run the main exchange, you know things are not always going to end well.
Curtain Call for BitConnect
To put this into perspective, the BitConnect price has dropped by a lot. Over the past week, it went from nearly 0 all the way to . Such a steep decline seems to confirm the developers finally completed their grand exit scam. It is also possible they used the ‘stolen” Bitcoins to crash the current market. Whether or not that latter part is a conspiracy theory or the sheer reality, remains to be seen. It is evident the BCC exchange had access to a lot of BTC, though. Either way, it seems this Ponzi Scheme is gone for good, which can only be considered to be a good thing.
Furthermore, it seems the project’s subReddit is no longer accessible. Rather than leaving it open to the public, it is now completely private. No one who isn’t “approved” can’t access this subreddit or see what is being posted there. A very worrisome turn of events for the people still waiting to get their money out. They were warned dozens of times about this Ponzi Scheme, though. Anyone who lost money due to BitConnect only has themselves to blame. It is a harsh reality, but that’s what people get for falling for snake oil practices.
For now, it is unclear what the future will hold. It seems the BCC Exchange has also shut its doors for now. This is more evidence of the nefarious nature of this particular “investment program”. It is a matter of time until the other exchanges remove BCC from their platform, by the look of things. We can only hope not too many people lost money because of BitConnect. At the same time, it seems likely the team ran off with a few dozen million Dollars in the end.
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