An Oklahoma man admitted to orchestrating a cryptocurrency funding fraud scheme that duped almost 2,800 buyers out of $9.4 million.
Travis Ford, 35, of Glenpool, pleaded responsible yesterday to 1 depend of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection along with his position as CEO, co-founder, and head dealer of Wolf Capital Crypto Buying and selling LLC.
The purported funding agency operated from January 2023 to August 2023, selling itself by way of its web site, social media, and different web platforms.
In response to courtroom paperwork, Ford falsely claimed to be a classy dealer able to delivering extraordinary each day returns of 1-2%, amounting to an annual return of roughly 547%.
Ford admitted that he knew such returns have been unattainable however made guarantees to lure buyers anyway. He misappropriated the funds to learn himself and his co-conspirators, leaving buyers with important monetary losses.
The Justice Division introduced the plea on Friday, Jan. 10, with Principal Deputy Assistant Lawyer Basic Brent Wible and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Inspector in Cost Eric Shen highlighting the fraudulent scheme’s scope.
Ford now faces as much as 5 years in jail, with sentencing to be decided by a federal district courtroom decide. The courtroom will contemplate the U.S. Sentencing Pointers and different statutory elements earlier than issuing a closing sentence.
A sentencing date has not but been set.
The information got here simply two days after a federal grand jury within the Japanese District of Washington charged a former pastor with 26 counts of fraud, alleging he masterminded a cryptocurrency scheme.