A man from Arizona has pleaded guilty to taking part in a cryptocurrency scam that collected more than $13 million from victims over several years.
On July 28, Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr. admitted in federal court to laundering money and trying to stop an investigation. The announcement came from the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Mazzotta’s sentencing is set for December 15. He could be sentenced to as many as 15 years in federal prison.
Did you know?
Subscribe – We publish new crypto explainer videos every week!
How to Avoid Rug Pulls in Crypto? (5 Ways Explained)
From 2017 to 2023, Mazzotta worked with David Gilbert Saffron, an Australian citizen, to run a group of fake investment firms. These companies included names like Mind Capital and Cloud9Capital.
They promised high returns by using automated trading systems and claimed the technology was powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Court documents showed that Mazzotta used several false names when communicating with investors. Some of these included “Vincent Midnight”, “Delta Prime”, and “Director Vinchenzo”.
Instead of investing the funds, the pair spent the money on expensive goods and services. This included private jet trips, rental homes in upscale neighborhoods, security staff, and luxury hotels.
Later, they created another fake group called the Federal Crypto Reserve. It was designed to appear as an official agency that assists individuals in recovering lost funds.
Victims who had already lost money were asked to pay more to support so-called investigations into the companies that had stolen from them.
On July 24, Christina Marie Chapman, a freelancer from Arizona with over 100,000 TikTok followers, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. What happened? Read the full story.
Having completed a Master’s degree in Economics, Politics, and Cultures of the East Asia region, Aaron has written scientific papers analyzing the differences between Western and Collective forms of capitalism in the post-World War II era.
With close to a decade of experience in the FinTech industry, Aaron understands all of the biggest issues and struggles that crypto enthusiasts face. He’s a passionate analyst who is concerned with data-driven and fact-based content, as well as that which speaks to both Web3 natives and industry newcomers.
Aaron is the go-to person for everything and anything related to digital currencies. With a huge passion for blockchain & Web3 education, Aaron strives to transform the space as we know it, and make it more approachable to complete beginners.
Aaron has been quoted by multiple established outlets, and is a published author himself. Even during his free time, he enjoys researching the market trends, and looking for the next supernova.
