Former IcomTech president Marco Ochoa pleaded guilty to fraud charges. The company, which claimed to engage in crypto mining, also had a local token called Icom.
Marco Ruiz Ochoa pleaded guilty to fraud charges in the Southern District Court of New York on September 27 in connection with the Ponzi scheme run by the company IcomTech. Ochoa was CEO of IcomTech from its founding in 2018 until 2019
It even had its own token
According to a statement from the United States Department of Justice, IcomTech promised investors daily returns on investment products offered by the company, which purported to be a crypto mining and trading company. Organizers hosted “flashy fairs” and other community events around the world to attract customers. The company also launched its own token called Icom.
CEO of cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme “IcomTech” pleads guiltyhttps://t.co/ov6BMTZ11K
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) September 27, 2023
However, the company allegedly did not mine crypto, and investors were unable to withdraw the profits they saw accumulating in their accounts. As a matter of fact, the company collapsed in late 2019. Charges were brought against Ochoa and other IcomTech executives in November. Ochoa faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. US Attorney Damian Williams said the following on the subject:
“Today’s criminal complaint sends a clear message that we are on the hunt for anyone who tries to exploit cryptocurrency to commit fraud.”
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On the other hand, on September 27, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a criminal complaint against Mosaic Exchange Limited and its CEO Sean Michael. Mosaic Exchange allegedly encouraged investors to allow them to enter into “futures, swaps, and leveraged spot transactions in cryptocurrency” on their behalf. CFTC commissioner Kristin Johnson made the following statement regarding the accusations:
“Mosaic was able to trade digital asset derivatives on BitMEX and Binance; The two platforms were previously charged by the CFTC with, among other things, failing to register as an FCM, SEF or DCM and failing to implement anti-money laundering and know-your-customer procedures.
“Under our existing authority, the CFTC should begin to impose regulations to address any gaps that may exist in these new market structures.”
