Crypto Scam Busted in 2023 Keeps Popping Up Victims in 2024

A crypto scam busted last year has left some breadcrumbs behind and they are coming into the spotlight now. 12News, an NBC affiliate in the Phoenix, Arizona region, reports the news. Corporation Commission Investigator Toni Brown told them that she is receiving up to 100 emails every day from people claiming to be the victims of the scheme.

Jeremie Sowerby, who defrauded investors through his crypto scheme, is currently behind bars and has pleaded not guilty. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 800-900 investors fell for this trap. Nonetheless, Toni believes this is an underestimate and there could be more.

The guilty also used a multilevel marketing strategy in his schemes where people were incentivized to add more people further to this ‘cause.’ “Sowerby’s schemes are operated like multi-level marketing. You bring in one person and that person is offered an incentive to bring in friends and family or other people they know,” Brow explained.

Last month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that he defrauded a physician of $207,000. Using another of the fake schemes he called ‘Justice Capital,’ he told the victim it’s a “risk-free” opportunity. He assured the returns by telling him about a mechanism involving a “bot algorithm” that his project uses. Jeremie eventually left him holding the bag.

Prior to this, the DOJ charged him in another cryptocurrency scam alongside another man named Luis Ortega. Both individuals ran their crypto schemes under three different projects, promising lavish giveaways and returns on investment. Authorities charged them with wire fraud and transactional money laundering. The counts can lead a person to a fine reaching $250,000, 20 years in prison, or both.

A real estate agent BK Blunt told his experience regarding his meeting with Jeremie Sowerby, who tried to showcase to him the potential returns from the project to 12News. The accused took him to a facility in Phoenix where a couple of armed guards were kept as security personnel.

Blunt saw hundreds of crypto mining rigs operating in the facility. He said, “We saw a bunch of machines running, rows of rows and rows.” Sowerby explained about the companies he is currently running and the astronomical returns Blunt can generate through his scheme. Luckily, Blunt held on to his instincts and was saved from the potential scam.

In 2023, the DOJ and FBI revealed that they seized $112 Million in cryptocurrency linked to the pig butchering scam. Fraudsters in such schemes develop a relationship of some kind, friendly or romantic, to develop trust. They then lure the victim into investment while promising them profits through the project and leave as soon as they have met their targeted sum.

A recent report released by software company ImmuneFi notes that more crypto projects may enter the market this year, potentially attracting more malevolent actors trying to exploit investors.

Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.