Daily fraud update: 22nd November

Forex brokers arrested in Thailand over alleged fraud

Five Chinese people acting as foreign exchange brokers have been arrested at a property in Thailand.

The five, who claimed to police that they went into the country as tourists, had been acting allegedly illegally by selling both the US dollar and the Chinese yuan.

However, they did not have a permit to do so – meaning that they will now be deported and placed on a blacklist to prevent them from entering Thailand again.

It is understood that some of their technology, including a range of mobile phones plus five laptops, have been taken.

A wide range of transaction documents have also been taken.

As part of the alleged fraudulent trading, they were believed to have carried out a range of marketing tasks including using an app called “Line”.

It comes after a larger alleged fraud, known as Forex 3D, occurred in the country.

As part of this fraud, which has been reported on around the world, around 30,000 people are believed to have been lured in.

Lawyer for OneCoin convicted over role in alleged scam

A man who acted as a lawyer for the alleged scam OneCoin has been convicted over money laundering accusations.

Mark Scott was told that he had been found guilty for his role – and that he may now go to prison for up to five decades.

He was up against two charges – one of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and another of conspiring to launder money.

The accusations against him centred on $400m, which the prosecutor claimed Scott laundered.

This cash was supposedly from the people who had invested in OneCoin – although it is now believed that this money was just a small amount compared to the wider amounts believed to have been taken in as part of the alleged scam.

One analysis claimed that Scott earned $50m as part of his role in the laundering.

He defended himself by claiming that he didn’t know where the cash had come from.

Excerpts from the court filing against Scott showed in clear detail what prosecutors were accusing him of.

“OneCoin used the success story of Bitcoin to induce victims to invest under the guise that they, too, could get rich through their investments”, the filing read.

In other publications by the Department of Justice, OneCoin as a whole is described as having been established “for the sole purpose of defrauding investors”.

“This is an old scam with a virtual twist”, said IRS Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur when the charges were first released.

“As alleged in court documents, the cryptocurrency OneCoin was established for the sole purpose of defrauding investors.”

Tafur also touched on the role of the brother and sister believed to be at the head of the scam.

“IGNATOV and IGNATOVA allegedly convinced victims to invest in OneCoin based on complete lies about the virtual currency.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to investigating cryptocurrency scams in an effort to protect the American public and bring cryptocurrency crooks to justice”, he added.

Denise Jacksone

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