Companies
DOJ Charges Virtual Asset Firm’s Founder with $6 Million Investor Fraud
The creator of the defunct cryptocurrency company My Big Coin was found guilty on Thursday of defrauding investors by marketing and selling a fictitious virtual currency that brought in $6 million.
$6 Million Investor Fraud
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Randall Crater, 51, of East Hampton, founded My Big Coin Pay Inc. (My Big Coin), a fictitious cryptocurrency and virtual payment services company with headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada.
He also provided virtual payment services through a phony digital currency called “My Big Coins,” which he misrepresented the nature and value of while marketing to investors between 2014 and 2017.
Crater and his associates falsely claimed that Coins were a fully functional cryptocurrency backed by $300 million in gold, oil, and other significant assets owned by Crater and his associates. Additionally, Crater misled investors by claiming that My Big Coin and MasterCard were partners and that coins could easily be converted into paper money or other digital currencies. Through social media, the internet, email, and text messages, Crater spread these falsehoods.
In actuality, Coins did not have a partnership with MasterCard, were not easily transferable, and were not backed by gold or other valuable assets. Crater stole more than $6 million from investors over the course of the scam for his own benefit, spending tens of thousands of dollars on jewelry, art, and antiques.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued allegations of commodity fraud against Crater and My Big Coin Pay Inc. in January 2018. Additionally, the CFTC brought civil lawsuits against John Roche, the My Big Coin CEO, and Mark Gillespie and Michael Kruger, two of Crater’s associates.
The announcement was made by the Criminal Division of the Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins for the District of Massachusetts, Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta of the FBI’s Boston Field Office, and Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
The case was looked into by the FBI, USPIS, and CFTC. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Babasijibomi Moore of the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham for the District of Massachusetts.
