A computer programmer and businessman from Brooklyn, Maksim Zaslavskiy, has been hit with a jail term of eighteen months, for operating a fake initial coin offering (ICO) and receiving funds from investors.
Zaslavskiy reportedly ran two different fake ICOs – REcoin and Diamond Reserve Coin – both of which ran as if the tokens in question were backed by certain assets including real estate and diamonds, which was untrue as there were no diamonds or property purchased. This scam proved to be quite successful for the fraudster as he was able to con over 1,000 unsuspecting investors, pulling in more than $300,000 from them, back in 2017. In November last year, Zaslavskiy pleaded guilty in court saying:
“I, along with others, made these false statements to obtain money from investors… We had not yet purchased any real estate … we had not purchased any diamonds.”
In a recent statement, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Richard P. Donoghue, described the crime as “old-fashioned fraud” and iterated commitment to go after anyone who tries to scam people in this way:
“Zaslavskiy committed an old-fashioned fraud camouflaged as cutting-edge technology … This office will continue to investigate and prosecute those who defraud investors, whether involving traditional securities or virtual currency.”
Image Credits: Pixabay
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