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A Long Island man has been sentenced to a lengthy 18 years in federal prison after orchestrating a multi-million-dollar cryptocurrency fraud scheme that duped over two dozen investors out of more than $12 million.
Eugene William Austin Jr., who also went by “Hugh Austin,” had promised unsuspecting victims a lucrative return on their investment through his fake crypto trading business. Instead, he used the funds for personal expenses and to pay off earlier investors in a classic Ponzi-style scheme. His son, Brandon Austin, was equally complicit and received a four-year prison sentence for his role in the fraudulent operation.
The scheme, which ran from 2018 to 2021, involved Eugene Austin falsely claiming to use advanced strategies and blockchain technologies to generate impressive returns on investment. In reality, new investor funds were used to pay off earlier participants or simply pocketed by the Austins. The perpetrators’ false claims were eventually uncovered, resulting in their legal consequences.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office emphasized that even those operating behind the scenes of crypto scams will be held accountable if caught.
Source: https://fullycrypto.com/long-island-man-jailed-for-12-million-crypto-fraud-scheme?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=long-island-man-jailed-for-12-million-crypto-fraud-scheme
