FTC the Latest Regulator to Crack Down on Cryptocurrency
The FTC has halted activity and frozen assets for individuals behind Bitcoin Funding Team, My7Network and JetCoin.
March 16, 2018 at 02:07 PM
2 minute read
Another regulator is making its mark in the world of cryptocurrency.
The Federal Trade Commission Friday announced activity has been halted and assets frozen for four individuals involved in deceptive cryptocurrency schemes.
The decision came when a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida sided with the FTC in a complaint that was previously sealed.
Bitcoin Funding Team, My7Network and JetCoin were all accused by the commission of falsely promising investors they could earn big returns by paying cryptocurrency to their platforms.
One of the companies, Bitcoin Funding Team, allegedly promoted that participants could turn a payment of roughly $100 into $80,000 in monthly income, the FTC claimed. The crypto platforms promoted the alleged schemes on websites, YouTube videos and through social media, according to the FTC.
Thomas Dluca, Louis Gatto, Eric Pinkston and Scott Chandler—operators of the three platforms—are all named defendants.
“The FTC has shown a likelihood that it will ultimately succeed on the merits,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow of the Southern District of Florida wrote in the 23-page ruling, referring to the platforms as chain referral schemes and money-making schemes.
“This case shows that scammers always find new ways to market old schemes, which is why the FTC will remain vigilant regardless of the platform—or currency used,” said Tom Pahl, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a press release Friday. “The schemes the defendants promoted were designed to enrich those at the top at the expense of everyone else.”
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