A major actor in a Crypto Ponzi program that has dulled victims of $ 13 million with allegations to use crypto trading robots fueled by artificial intelligence and a false government agency has pleaded guilty.
The United States Ministry of Justice said on Monday that Vincent Anthony Mazzotta JR had admitted his role in the fraud of investors by promising high yields made through fictitious investment companies that use trading in cryptography trading powered by AI.
Mazzotta pleaded guilty to money laundering and a conspiracy to hinder justice, which together carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. A judge has not yet determined the sentence.
The Ministry of Justice charged the Mazzotta at the end of 2023 for the first time in an indictment replaced in the existing case of the agency against its alleged co-conspirator, David Saffron. Saffron pleaded not guilty.
David Kagel was also charged as part of the program and, in October, was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay more than $ 13.9 million after pleading guilty of conspiracy in order to commit fraud on raw materials.
Mazzotta used a false government agency: Doj
The DoJ said Mazzotta had used companies, including Mind Capital and Cloud9Capital, to manage the program and carry out millions of investor funds.
He added that Mazzotta then helped create a false government agency called the Federal Cryptography Reserve and accused thousands of victims under the guise of investigating his businesses, which “had disappeared with the investments of the victims”.
Tyler Hatcher, special agent in charge of the IRS Los Angeles field office, said that using false “American government entities to legitimize their scams”, he attracted “the attention of real federal authorities”.
Victims’ money used to fuel luxurious lifestyle
The Ministry of Justice said in its initial accusation act that between December 2017 and July 2023, user deposits with companies were bleached by cryptographic mixers, then spent on a range of luxurious items such as private loaded assets, luxury hotel accommodation, private mansion rentals, a personal and private security guardians.
Defenders would have used a range of false companies while managing the program, including Circle Society, Bitcoin Wealth Management and Omicron Trust.
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The prosecutors said Mazzotta had also passed through alias Anthony, Delta Prime and director Vinchenzo, while Saffron used the nicknames David Gilbert, Dave Gabe, The Blue Wizard and Bitcoin Yoda.
“Bitcoin Yoda” to deal with a trial
The Doj said Mazzotta had been invited to work with other anonymous co-conspirators to hide and destroy evidence in Saffron’s apartment after the saffron was charged in June 2022.
Mazzotta would have destroyed an iPad and falsified commercial files to hide its own involvement in the program.
Saffron has been behind bars since August 2023 and faces a trial on September 16. He is accused of conspiracy in order to commit fraud by wire, fraud by wire, conspiracy in sight to hinder justice, a conspiracy in order to commit money laundering and money laundering.
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