Ponzi | Crypto

Saifedean Ammous warned Argentina’s high-yield bond strategy is unsustainable, calling it a “Ponzi” that could push investors toward Bitcoin as the peso crumbles. Economist and author of “The Bitcoin Standard,” Saifedean Ammous, warned that Argentina’s financial system is on the brink of collapse, calling President Javier Milei’s economic program a “debt and inflation Ponzi” propped up by unsustainable bond yields and money printing. In a post on X, Ammous argued that Argentina’s government has created a financial system where bond speculation is the only path to financial security. “The only concrete achievement of his administration so far is that it destroyed the currency and created a shitcoin casino,” he said. At the center of the crisis is what locals call “la bicicleta financiera,” a high-yield carry trade where investors buy short-term government bonds that offer interest rates exceeding the pace of peso devaluation. According to Ammous, this setup, which has become the country’s most lucrative indust...

A US judge ruled EminiFX and its founder, Eddy Alexandre, must repay $228 million after running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors. A federal judge in New York ordered Eddy Alexandre, founder of the collapsed crypto platform EminiFX, to pay more than $228 million in restitution after ruling the company was a Ponzi scheme that defrauded tens of thousands of investors. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) secured a summary judgment against Alexandre and EminiFX, with US District Judge Valerie Caproni holding them jointly liable for more than $228 million in restitution and an additional $15 million in disgorgement, according to a Tuesday court filing. “Defendants Alexandre and EminiFX are jointly and severally liable to pay restitution in the total amount of $228,576,962,” the court ruled. “Defendant Alexandre is liable to pay disgorgement in the amount of $15,049,500.” Read more

Vietnam’s police said they arrested 20 people in the country’s largest crypto scam, a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme built around Paynet Coin. Vietnamese authorities have dismantled what they described as the country’s largest crypto fraud to date, arresting the ringleader and accomplices behind a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme built around the digital token Paynet Coin (PAYN). The Phu Tho Provincial Police said on Monday that the suspects lured thousands of victims in Vietnam and overseas into an illegal multilevel marketing (MLM) operation disguised as a crypto investment platform, according to a report by local media outlet Công an Nhân dân. Using websites such as FMCPAY.com and AFF2024.com, the group promised investors monthly returns of 5%–9% and additional commissions for recruiting others. Funds from new participants were used to pay earlier investors, a classic Ponzi structure, per the authorities. Read more

Former rugby player Shane Donovan Moore was sentenced to 2.5 years in US federal prison for running a $900,000 crypto mining Ponzi scheme. Former rugby player Shane Donovan Moore was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in a US federal prison for defrauding more than 40 investors out of $900,000 in a crypto mining Ponzi scheme. According to a Thursday Department of Justice announcement, Moore operated Quantum Donovan LLC from January 2021 to October 2022. Through the company, he reportedly defrauded over 40 investors out of more than $900,000. While promoting the scheme, Moore claimed that the funds raised would be spent on cryptocurrency mining hardware. He promised investors daily returns of 1%. Read more

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed civil charges and sought an emergency asset freeze against First Liberty Building & Loan, LLC, a lending institution based in Newnan, Georgia, and its founder and owner, Edwin Brant Frost IV. The SEC alleges that the firm and its owner orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that defrauded […] The post SEC charges Georgia’s First Liberty Building & Loan and owner in $140M Ponzi scheme appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The Beijing Internet Finance Industry Association (BIFA) issued a notice on July 9 urging retail investors to reject pitchbooks that wrap old-style pyramid sales in crypto terminology. According to local news outlets, BIFA said promoters have begun advertising “stablecoin wealth plans,” “Web 3.0 dividends,” and similar offers that promise fixed returns.  The circular listed five […] The post Chinese industry group warns Web3 and DeFi high-return deals hide classic Ponzi engines appeared first on CryptoSlate.