The US Department of Justice announced that it has accused BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani of defrauding investors of approximately $2.4 billion.
The US Department of Justice issued a press release on the Bitconnect case on Friday. According to the statement, a federal jury has charged BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani with defrauding investors of approximately $2.4 billion through a lending scheme. Kumbhani was charged with conspiracy to commit electronic fraud, conspiracy to commit electronic fraud, price manipulation, operating an unlicensed money transmitter and conspiracy to launder international funds to orchestrate a global Ponzi scheme. The statement also included allegations that he traded cryptocurrencies using investor funds and reimbursed previous investors with funds he received from later investors.
At the end of 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against BitConnect organizer Glenn Arcaro along with Kumbhani. Last September, Arcaro pleaded guilty to a similar charge made by the US Department of Justice.