US Government Seizes $ 56 Million In Crypto From BitConnect ‘Number One Promoter’

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The US government has seized $ 56 million in cryptocurrency from a known participant in the BitConnect scam and intends to sell the coins and use the proceeds to reimburse victims. The Justice Department says it is the largest cryptocurrency recovery to date – and was voluntarily abandoned by Los Angeles resident Glenn Arcaro, who called himself ” BitConnect ‘number one promoter.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), BitConnect convinced people to invest a total of $ 2 billion by telling them that it has a bot capable of generating insanely high rates of return from crypto trading. In other words, BitConnect sold itself as a way for people to easily invest in cryptocurrency and make a lot of money doing it, at a time when people heard a lot about crypto but did not know much about it (around 2016 to 2018).

In reality, the DOJ says it was all a scam – BitConnect used money from new investors to pay off old ones (otherwise known as the Ponzi scheme), and its advocates built pyramid schemes where they would get a share. to convince others to invest by promising them the same deal. In September, Arcaro pleaded guilty to participating in both sides of the scam while allegedly posting videos online to poke fun at BitConnect skeptics. He said he won what was then valued at $ 24 million from his participation.

Some may also remember BitConnect during a heavily memorized presentation given by one of its investors, who repeatedly shouted “BitConneeeeeeect” and said his wife had accused him of falling into the trap of a scam.

While BitConnect has largely traded Bitcoin (victims would buy BitConnect’s own BCC tokens using Bitcoin and apparently could convert BCC back to Bitcoin through a convoluted process), the government plans to reimburse victims in USD. The DOJ press release says the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service will help convert crypto into fiat currency. The government has set up a website for victims seeking compensation after the court sentenced Arcaro in January 2022.

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