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South African BTC Ponzi Scheme Mastermind Succumbs to Heart Attack While Detained in Brazil
29.4.2024
Johann Steynberg, the mastermind behind a South African bitcoin Ponzi scheme, recently died of a heart attack while under house arrest on a farm in Brazil. According to his Brazilian wife, Steynberg left no will and had no assets that could be inventoried. South African Police Investigate...
Report: Brazilian Court Fines Mastermind of South African Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
16.8.2023
A court in Brazil has found Johann Steynberg, the mastermind of the bitcoin ponzi scheme Mirror Trading International (MTI), guilty in a case in which he is accused of using a forged identity document. The court, however, commuted Steynberg’s three-and-a-half-year sentence to a fine of just...
US Court Orders Operator of South African Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme to Pay Over $3.4 Billion
2.5.2023
Johann Steynberg, the founder and CEO of Mirror Trading International, has been ordered to pay over $1.73 billion in restitution to victims of his bitcoin ponzi scheme. The court has also ordered Steynberg to pay a civil monetary penalty of a similar amount. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission...
Mirror Trading International Liquidators Spent More Than $6 million on Lawyers and Investigators
27.2.2023
Liquidators of the now defunct bitcoin trading platform, Mirror Trading International have so far used approximately $4.2 million on expenses such as lawyers’ or consultants’ fees. Between Jan. 23, 2023, and the date of their appointment, liquidators claimed to have recovered...
Tax Collector Wants $55 Million From Collapsed Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme MTI — Liquidators Accused of Failing Their Duty
24.7.2022
In a fresh twist to the collapsed bitcoin Ponzi scheme Mirror Trading International (MTI) saga, revenue collector South African Revenue Services (SARS) has demanded $55.3 million from the scheme’s liquidators. The revenue collector added that it wants the tax bill settled before the...
Kenyans Lose Millions of Dollars to yet Another Cryptocurrency Scam: Bitstream Circle
20.3.2022
The masterminds behind the alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme called Bitstream Circle are believed to have stolen more than $10 million in investor funds. The alleged theft became apparent on March 13, 2022, when some of the scheme’s investors encountered problems making withdrawals....
Report: Mirror Trading International Said to Be Owed Over $129 Million by Previously Unaccounted for Debtors
7.12.2021
Mirror Trading International, the now-defunct fraudulent bitcoin investment platform, is said to be owed more than $129 million by debtors that had not been declared previously. Unaccounted for Debtors Liquidators of the collapsed South African bitcoin Ponzi scheme, Mirror Trading International...
Kenyan Insurance Executive Calls Cryptocurrencies Ponzi Schemes, Warns Users This Will ‘End in Tears’
2.8.2021
A Kenyan insurance executive, Julius Kipng’etich has compared cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to Ponzi schemes and has urged his countrymen not “touch this.” In addition, Kipng’etich warned those already involved in crypto trading to be prepared for the consequences as this...
South African Court Submissions Expose Lies and Deceptive Tactics Used to Perpetuate MTI Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
10.6.2021
New submissions by a South African regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and liquidators have exposed the web of lies and deceptive tactics that were used by Mirror Trading International (MTI) CEO Johann Steynberg and others to perpetuate the Ponzi scheme. Undeclared Losses...
Cuban Central Bank Issues Warning on the Rising Number of Crypto-Related Ponzi Cases
19.5.2021
Cuba has witnessed some exciting times in the last few months as far as nationwide digital currency acceptance, but the road toward this goal is still under construction. The country’s central bank recently issued a warning about the rising number of cryptocurrency-related scam cases across...
National Court of Spain Takes the Investigation of the Alleged Ponzi Crypto Scheme Arbistar
23.4.2021
The investigation against an alleged major Spanish Ponzi crypto scheme will now be in charge of the National Court of Spain. A judge from the national legal instance is now taking the investigation of Arbistar after the inhibition of a judge in Tenerife. Economic Damages Could Reach Over $120...
South African Regulator Zeroes in on Scams and Unregulated Firms in Its Second Crypto ‘Health Warning’
29.3.2021
South African regulator the Financial Sector Conduct Authority recently issued its second crypto “health warning” after it noticed increased reports of crypto-related losses suffered “in the past three months.” In the warning, the regulator reminds investors that since...
Argentinean Prosecutor Investigates an Alleged Bitcoin Scam Ganancias Deportivas
16.2.2021
In Mendoza, Argentina, law enforcement launched an investigation against a sports-related investment site for presumably being a bitcoin scam. Among the inquiries, authorities are investigating if they’re involved in money laundering and tax evasion. Platform Claims to Invest Customer’s...
Crypto Fund Manager Charged in $5M Ponzi Scheme, Facing up to 30 Years in US Prison
30.1.2021
A cryptocurrency fund manager has been charged in a U.S. federal court. He allegedly took over $5 million from investors interested in investing in his crypto funds, promising them high returns. In reality, he was running a Ponzi scheme and is now facing up to 30 years in prison. Crypto Fund...
MTI Bitcoins Sent to Privacy Mixers as New Data Breach Exposes the Ponzi Scheme’s Top Earners
10.1.2021
In another twist to the Mirror Trading International (MTI) bitcoin Ponzi scam, the blockchain intelligence firm Whitestream says bitcoins from wallets associated with the company are being sent to Wasabi privacy mixers. According to Whitestream’s update, this pivot to mixers suggests that...
Spanish Police Detain Four People Allegedly Involved in a $15M Crypto Ponzi Scheme
9.1.2021
The Spanish police detained four people of different nationalities this week for allegedly running a $15 million crypto Ponzi scheme. According to the police, “many victims” filed a complaint against them. Victims Believed Their Bitcoins Went to a Legit Company According to Policia...
Lawyer Who Represents Victims of Alleged Spanish Crypto Ponzi Says It Could Be the ‘Biggest One’ in the Country
16.12.2020
The Arbistar case victims’ defense lawyer claims that the overall number of those affected amounts to 32,000 families with at least 93.4 million euros ($113.55 million) in losses. Lawyer in Arbistar Case Reveals Details on Class-Actions Lawsuits Against the Alleged Crypto Ponzi Scheme During...
South African Regulator Raids Home of Key Members of an Alleged Crypto Ponzi Scheme
27.10.2020
A South African regulator along with the country’s police have reportedly seized electronics devices and computers belonging to two principal members of Mirror Trading International (MTI), an alleged bitcoin Ponzi scheme. The raid at Clynton and Cheri Marks’ home on October 26...
Spanish Prosecution Office Investigating Alleged Bitcoin Pyramid Scheme: $1 Billion in Investor Funds Reportedly Missing
7.10.2020
The Spanish Prosecution office says it is investigating Arbistar for allegedly running a bitcoin trading scam with preliminary findings suggesting $1 billion in investors’ funds cannot be accounted for. The disappearance of investor funds has affected 32,000 families that are failing...
US Man Pleads Guilty in $722 Million Bitclub Network Ponzi Scheme Case
7.9.2020
A Bitclub Network Ponzi scheme promoter has admitted to charges of selling unregistered securities and to subscribing to a false tax return in connection with his role in the $722 million fraud scam. The man, Joseph Frank Abel, pleaded guilty by video conference before U.S. District Judge Claire...