defraud

According to Hongxing News, the individual involved in the incident of "Tsinghua graduates studying at University College London (UCL) being scammed" revealed that he was scammed for nearly 45 days. On the day he arrived in the UK and checked into his dormitory, he received a call from a number displayed as "Embassy," claiming that his phone number had sent a large number of harassment and fraud messages, and transferred him to so-called "cyber police." The caller accurately reported his personal information, requested him to download video software, and displayed materials such as police identification, arrest warrants, and confessions.Several "cyber police" bombarded him with information for more than three hours while he was still adjusting to the time difference and was physically and mentally exhausted, causing him to lose his judgment. Subsequently, the so-called "Interpol" led him to mistakenly believe he was assisting in an investigation into an international money laundering case and made him sign a so-called confidentiality document. For the first two weeks, they continued to strengthen control, requiring him to maintain a phone call 24 hours a day and turn on video for online monitoring, while also restricting his social interactions under the guise of investigation confidentiality.They ultimately induced him to purchase digital currency and transfer it to a designated account, and even made him deceive his family into transferring money for the so-called case, claiming it would be returned after the case was closed. He was also coerced into downloading foreign encrypted chat software to register an account for purchasing virtual currency. After returning to his home country, he discovered that during the period he was out of contact, the scammers had used his credit card to purchase tickets to other destinations. He reminded the public to pay more attention to anti-fraud campaigns, as scammers exploit time differences and information gaps to set traps.

According to the official website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on October 9, 2026, the SEC officially sued Linqto's former executives William Sarris and Joseph Endoso, accusing them of committing fraud by selling equity in pre-IPO unicorn companies to retail investors through their online platform.Between 2021 and 2024, Linqto's subsidiary sold over $430 million in special purpose vehicles (SPV) to retail investors. The SEC accused the two of: falsely reporting prices below market value (with almost all being above fair value), falsely claiming that stocks were "sold out," pretending that prices were dynamically set by algorithms (when they were actually manually priced), and publicly claiming compliance while knowing they were violating regulations. Additionally, they were accused of illegally operating an unregistered investment company and selling unregistered securities to non-accredited investors.The SEC seeks to impose an injunction against the two, recover illegal gains and interest, impose civil penalties, and prohibit them from serving as executives or directors of public companies in the future. The case is being investigated by the SEC's San Francisco Regional Office, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI.

The social media platform X has filed a lawsuit in London against two British residents, accusing them of defrauding the company through the Creator Revenue Sharing program. X Internet Unlimited Company and X Corp. stated in the lawsuit that Vivek Kumar Sen, Zamyang Sherpa, and unidentified accomplices operated multiple X accounts in collaboration, using likes, retweets, and replies to create a false impression of genuine interaction to increase their share of revenue from the program. X was acquired last year by Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI for $33 billion.The plaintiffs named a total of 9 accounts, including @Vivek4real_, @Bitcoin_Teddy, @saylordocs, @TrendingBitcoin, @Kalshibacktest, and @PolyBackTest. X accused several accounts of posting identical or highly similar cryptocurrency-related content within minutes of each other, with one post interval being only 11 seconds; at the same time, these accounts had overlapping financial and identity information, such as the Stripe account associated with @Bitcoin_Teddy being registered under the name "Stefan Mann," while the associated bank account and email both belonged to Sen.X claimed it suffered a loss of £207,384 (approximately $277,000) due to program expenditures and is seeking at least £75,000 (approximately $100,000) for investigation, analysis, remediation, and prevention of further violations.

According to CoinDesk, a 22-year-old man from Singapore will plead guilty in one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in the United States.The scammer posed as customer service representatives from Google and Gemini, tricking an investor into handing over Bitcoin worth $240 million.

According to The Block, a federal jury in the United States found San Francisco resident Japheth Dillman guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that Dillman made false statements regarding the cryptocurrency trading fund Block Bits Capital, which he co-founded, defrauding over 20 investors of nearly $1 million.His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 8.

A man in Anshun, Guizhou, used the name of a virtual currency airdrop project as a pretext to lure friends into investing with the bait of guaranteed high returns, ultimately crossing the legal red line. The People's Procuratorate of Pingba District, Anshun City, Guizhou Province, filed a public prosecution, and the court sentenced Zhao to seven months in prison for fraud, along with a fine of 5,000 yuan.Zhao had been paying attention to the field of virtual currency investment for many years and had long been posting investment insights and financial management tips on social media platforms. Zhang was also a virtual currency enthusiast, and the two met on a social platform due to their common interests, gradually becoming friends and frequently discussing investment strategies online. Through long-term communication, Zhao gained Zhang's trust with seemingly professional investment analysis. Subsequently, Zhao proposed a joint investment, to which Zhang agreed. However, after a period of investment, Zhang experienced significant losses and expressed his intention to stop further investments.On August 23, 2025, Zhao claimed that a certain app had launched an airdrop project (to promote a new project, encourage user participation, or reward loyal users, distributing native tokens of the project for free to eligible users), persuading Zhang to invest the remaining funds in his account into this project, promising a return of 100 to 200 U coins (virtual currency) within two days. Zhao also guaranteed that if there were any losses during this period, he would bear the responsibility. To further alleviate Zhang's concerns, Zhao claimed that all investment funds would be transferred to a public chain (the public address of the virtual currency). Believing Zhao, Zhang exchanged 1,757 dollars in his account for Ethereum and completed the transfer according to the wallet link provided by Zhao. In reality, the wallet corresponding to that link was a personal account registered using his girlfriend's identity information, not a public chain. The agreed time for the return of funds had passed, but Zhao had not fulfilled his promise. Zhang urged for repayment multiple times, but Zhao evaded responsibility with excuses such as sending the wrong link and needing time to track it down. On September 7 of the same year, Zhang reported the situation to the police after noticing something was wrong.On April 2 of this year, the Pingba District Procuratorate filed a public prosecution against Zhao for suspected fraud. The procuratorial agency believed that Zhao deceived others out of property by concealing the truth, with a significant amount involved, constituting the crime of fraud. Given that Zhao truthfully confessed to the criminal facts after being apprehended, showed signs of remorse, and had fully compensated the victim for their losses while voluntarily admitting guilt, he could be punished leniently according to the law.

According to Qilu Evening News, a new type of virtual currency "staking mining" scam has recently emerged. Scammers create a perfect persona through long-term friendships on social platforms, chatting with victims for one to two months to build trust. They then guide victims to switch to overseas private communication software such as WhatsApp and Discord, inducing them to download fake mining platforms and sign contracts for authorization. Using the asset transfer permissions from the contracts, they quietly transfer funds from the victims' accounts in the background.The scammers never mention sensitive words like "investment" or "financial management," packaging the scam as "idle computing power staking mining," claiming zero risk and stable returns, and using small rebates to entice victims to increase their investments. Currently, most victims are young people with side job needs, with known losses exceeding 3 million yuan, and the highest individual loss exceeding 300,000 yuan. Victims are spread across many regions of the country. Lawyers remind that virtual currency transactions are not protected by law, and any strangers on social platforms inducing a switch to overseas software or requesting wallet authorization for unfamiliar contracts should be regarded as scams. Do not make secondary transfers.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against companies such as Adit Ventures Management, accusing them of defrauding investors and client funds in stock investments prior to the IPOs of SpaceX and Klarna.com.

According to Decrypt, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a man from Tennessee has been charged by federal authorities with 11 counts for allegedly operating a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme through his company Star Credit Holdings from 2020 to 2024.He lured investors with false promises of guaranteed returns, used funds from new investors to pay old investors, defrauding investors of millions of dollars, and misappropriated over $1.9 million for himself and his family. He is currently charged with crimes including wire fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns; if convicted, he could face decades in federal prison.

According to CoinTelegraph, the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security recently arrested several individuals related to the cryptocurrency platform ONUS, accusing them of inducing investors to purchase tokens such as VNDC, ONUS, and HNG through false advertising, coordinating wash trading, and artificially manipulating token prices, with the amount involved reportedly reaching billions of dollars.Those arrested include Vuong Le Vinh Nhan, a person related to ONUS Pro's parent company XPLOR, platform technical administrator Tran Quang Chien, and Ngo Thi Thao, director of HanaGold Jewelry JSC. The investigation spans multiple cities, and the police have summoned over 140 people to cooperate with the investigation and seized relevant evidence. The ONUS platform has not yet made an official response regarding this matter.

According to the Beijing Legal Network WeChat public account, the Beijing High People's Court has released 5 typical cases of punishing telecom network fraud in accordance with the law, including a cross-border telecom network fraud case that utilized virtual currency for investment. The defendant committed fraud in Chaoyang District, Beijing, by using overseas chat software to invite others to purchase virtual currency and invest in designated platforms, and transferred the fraud proceeds through virtual currency.It was found that the gang defrauded a total amount of over 900,000 US dollars (equivalent to over 5 million RMB). The court accurately determined the amount of fraud based on objective evidence such as the salary performance table of the involved company, sentencing Liu to twelve years in prison for fraud and imposing a fine.

According to The Block, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office announced on Friday that a 23-year-old Brooklyn man has been charged with 31 counts for allegedly carrying out a phishing scam that stole approximately $16 million in cryptocurrency from about 100 Coinbase users.Ronald Specter, a resident of Sheepshead Bay, is charged with first-degree grand larceny and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that Specter impersonated a Coinbase representative to contact victims, warning them that their assets were at risk of a hacking attack. He is accused of tricking users into transferring their assets to a new wallet that he secretly controlled, and then laundering the funds through cryptocurrency mixers, exchange services, and gambling platforms.

According to crypto journalist Kate Irwin, cryptocurrency venture capital firm Shima Capital and its founder Yida Gao have been sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accused of "defrauding specific investors." According to internal emails from informed sources, Gao has announced his resignation and the liquidation of the fund. In his letter, he wrote: "I deeply regret making the wrong decision and apologize for letting you down."Shima Capital manages approximately $200 million and has invested in several crypto projects, including Berachain, Monad, and Pudgy Penguins.

On-chain detective ZachXBT posted on social media that Ron (real name Ronald Spektor), who impersonated a Coinbase customer to steal $6.5 million in assets in November 2024, has been arrested in New York.The incident occurred on October 7, when the victim received a call disguised as Coinbase customer service and was induced to visit a phishing website, resulting in the theft of funds. On-chain tracking shows that the stolen funds were sent to the eXch platform, where they were exchanged for LTC and dispersed to multiple service platforms.

The People's Procuratorate of Yuhua District, Changsha City, disclosed a "Killing Foreign Plate" fraud case, with 11 individuals involved being convicted. The gang defrauded approximately 340,000 yuan in total. The "Killing Foreign Plate" evolved from the traditional "Killing Pig Plate," specifically targeting foreigners for fraud.In March 2024, Liu and Li established a fraud gang in Yuhua District, with clear divisions of labor: 8 salespeople disguised as "financial elite women" sought foreign male targets on overseas social platforms, using emotional fraud tactics to lure victims into investing in virtual currencies on a fake platform.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the Colorado Securities Regulatory Authority stated on Tuesday that the Denver District Court recently found Pastor Eli Regalado and his wife guilty of fraud, ordering them to repay $3.39 million to investors.The court determined that they violated securities laws by issuing INDXcoin and Sumcoin tokens through their church, illegally raising funds from at least 596 investors. The ruling shows that the Regalado couple claimed "God" instructed them to create, sell, and "sow" INDXcoin, and also formed a "prophet team" that held multiple conference calls each week to obtain the latest information about the token and exchanges, prayed during key decision-making moments, and made suggestions based on "divine will," reinforcing a religious promotional framework, but this did not exempt them from scrutiny. Furthermore, they deposited investor funds into their own accounts, using at least $1.3 million for personal luxury expenses.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on Monday that Stephen Ehrlich, co-founder and former head of the bankrupt crypto lending platform Voyager Digital Ltd., must pay $750,000 to defrauded customers.According to a consent order from the New York federal court, Ehrlich neither admitted nor denied the charges and is banned from engaging in commodity trading for three years, along with other restrictions. CFTC Acting Director Charles Marvine stated that this settlement highlights its important role in the digital asset space, with compensating victims and limiting the defendant's future ability to cause harm being its core mission. In October 2023, the CFTC sued Ehrlich and Voyager, accusing them of fraudulently operating a digital asset platform, misleading customers by claiming it was a "safe harbor," and attracting clients with high returns while lending billions of dollars of customer assets to high-risk third parties. Ehrlich expressed that he was "angry and disappointed" by the charges at that time. Previously, Ehrlich had reached a settlement regarding false statements related to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

ChainCatcher news, the official website of the Supreme People's Procuratorate has announced a case involving the fabrication of false national project implementation for fraud related to virtual currency. The suspects attracted members to participate by posting promotional information on social media, holding online meetings to explain the benefits of the project, and within just six months, they attracted over 1,900 participants nationwide. Members participating in the project were required to convert RMB into USDT for recharge and transfer on the software.According to the judicial accounting appraisal of electronic data by the Huimin County Procuratorate in Shandong Province, the suspects defrauded over 6 million yuan, and they were prosecuted for fraud. The defendants were sentenced to imprisonment for three years and six months to three years.

ChainCatcher news, according to News1, the police in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, arrested and prosecuted three suspects on August 28, 2025, for allegedly committing cryptocurrency fraud, which defrauded 129 victims of approximately 5.7 billion won (4.1 million USD). The gang is accused of creating a meme coin called GCV between December 2023 and June 2024.It is alleged that they lured investors to invest in the coin with false promises of membership in Asian golf courses.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the blockchain investigation agency Darkbit has discovered that a new scam service, Vanilla Drainer, has stolen at least $5.27 million in cryptocurrency within three weeks.The organization assists fraudsters in stealing funds by providing phishing software and takes a 15%-20% cut. Vanilla has been active since October 2024, with advertisements claiming it can bypass the security detection platform Blockaid.In the largest single theft case on August 5, victims lost $3.09 million in stablecoins, while the operators profited $463,000. The stolen funds are typically converted into ETH or unfreezable stablecoin DAI, ultimately pooling into a specific fee wallet, which currently holds tokens worth $2.23 million.Vanilla evades tracking by creating new contracts for each malicious website and frequently changing domain names.