According to Reuters News Service, John McAfee, the antivirus software pioneer whose life appeared dedicated to stomping bad guys, was indicted on fraud and money-laundering conspiracy charges with cryptocurrency scheme!
Authorities say McAfee and his bodyguard, Jimmy Gale Watson Jr., were exploiting McAfee's large Twitter following to inflate prices of "altcoins" in a “pump-and-dump” scheme, while concealing payments McAfee received from startup businesses ‘going public” with new digital coin offerings.
The Justice Department said McAfee and accomplices took in more than $13 million from the schemes which almost does not seem like a crime in these days of billion Dollar schemes. The charges were brought in Manhattan District Federal court.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed related civil charges concerning the now alleged pump-and-dump scheme that makes a new stock offering which quickly reflects price rises on share purchases, “feeding itself,” as it were, so as founders they would have the original $1 per shares, see it rise quickly and then sell out only to see it fall when the buyers found there was no market for the “coin” other than the one McAfee exchange.
When the founders pulled their money out there was little to nothing and no more customers so the defrauded investors would go away quietly in embarrassment.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement: "As alleged, McAfee and Watson exploited a widely used social media platform and enthusiasm among investors in the emerging cryptocurrency market to make millions through lies and deception."
McAfee is detained in Spain following his arrest on tax evasion and civil charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which in October accused McAfee of concealing more than $23.1 million he made from boosting seven cryptocurrency offerings on Twitter.
In cryptocurrency cases, McAfee touted assets including Verge, Reddcoin and Dogecoin as part of a "Coin of the Day" or "Coin of the Week" tweet from December 2017 through February 2018.
Authorities said McAfee claimed to be an expert on cybersecurity and cryptocurrency through his tweets, speeches and his role as a CEO of a publicly traded cryptocurrency company. They also accused him of telling followers he had no stake in the coins, even as he claimed they "will change the world."
We cite this case as typical of the “cryptocurrency”
world and recommend all to stay away from these offerings as with most
there is no place to sell them for Dollars than their exchanges unless you can
find a buyer and in doing so perhaps be accused, like McAfee, of being a
swindler just for getting your money out with a profit!
It is sad, but true that every new gimmick, system or technology seems to attract swindlers faster than a new “sporting house” in a small town in the middle west. “New” is a warning label in this field.
Adrian Vance
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