The CEO of Titanium Blockchain robbed $21 million through a cryptocurrency fraud scheme. As per the press release issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the culprit Michael Alan Stollery lured crypto investors to buy BARS, TBIS (Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services) token service by cooking false stories. He didn’t even register the coin offering, a crucial legal prerequisite for every crypto or blockchain firm.
If we go as per reports, Stollery raised almost $21million in bitcoin and Ether and acquired some cash through investors nestled around 18 states. The officials at US securities revealed that the CEO pleaded guilty to his crime. Besides operating an unregistered ICO, he confessed to paying his personal credit card bills using investor funds for a Hawaii condominium.
It won’t be wrong to say that the entire blockchain website is a hoax. The scammer created a fake whitepaper of his company. A whitepaper is a legal document that offers an insight into investment plans, details of token offerings and the objective of that website to inform investors.
To set bait on potential investors, Stollery posted client testimonials which were all fake. He also claimed good ties with some reputable crypto firms, notably with the Federal Reserve. Upon proving his crime, the CEO might be imprisoned for 20 years; he will be sentenced on 18th November 2022.
To some extent, the rising incidents of forgery and scams in crypto negatively impact this ever-growing platform. Another similar forgery made headlines when Coinbase’s former product manager was convicted for insider trading. Federal regulators are on the watch out for scams in the crypto space and taking strict action against the culprits.
Looking at the increase in crypto fraud cases, we suggest you be extra cautious when investing your hard-earned money in any scheme. Do proper research and never believe those websites that claim 100% return on your cryptocurrency. Stay alert!
