According to report, William Koo Ichioka of Ichioka Ventures assured investors that he would pay them 10% returns monthly from crypto and other investments. But the truth is that his company never made a penny.
Now he will have to serve 4 years in jail and $ 5 million penalty for defrauding more than 100 investors amounting to about the sum of $61M.
Ichioka’s scheme was not much different from an ordinary Ponzi where new investor monies were used to pay off earlier investors. Even in court papers, he confessed “The company hasn’t earned a cent since we started”.
Assistant US Attorney Robbins said “Ichioka lied to investors and robbed them of their money”. Today’s sentence sends a clear message: crypto fraud won’t be tolerated.
Ichioka’s personal losses emphasize the risks, other than his fraud. Report said he bet $50-$60 million in Bitcoins for Trump’s election reversal and lost.
