Two Canadians hit by Bitcoin fraud claims

Chris Lee

Two men from Canada have been hit by claims that the they participated in a Bitcoin fraud incident.

According to the US Department of Justice, 23-year-old Karanjit Singh Khatkar and 24-year-old Jagroop Singh Khatkar have both received charges of wire fraud, money laundering and more.

The pair are both from Surrey in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The charges, which were issued by the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Oregon, focuses on their activities on Twitter.

It is believed that they operated a Twitter page which imitated the customer helpdesk of a legitimate crypto exchange, HitBTC.

However, the account allegedly operated by the two defendants was not the real thing. When a person from the US state of Oregon contacted what was allegedly their account, they asked her to send personal details which allowed them to enter her accounts on various websites, including her email and her actual HitBTC account.

It is believed that in total the defendants were able to steal 23.2 Bitcoins in this particular case.

At present, this is understood to be equal in value to $233,220 US dollars – meaning that it is a significant amount of cash.

Their alleged fraudulent behaviour was carried out separately. Karanjit Khatkar is understood to have carried out the alleged crime in this particular case but split the proceeds with Jagroop Singh Khatkar.

According to the statement, Karanjit Khatkar was arrested on July 18th of this year when he landed at an airport in Las Vegas.

Jagroop Singh Khatkar has not been taken into custody. It is understood by the authorities that he is in Canada.

They have both been charged with several counts of criminal activity. They have a count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Each one then has five further counts of wire fraud, and three of aggravated identity theft. Several counts of money laundering also apply to each.

In a statement, the Department of Justice outlined how the pair carried out their alleged crypto fraud.

“According to the indictment, beginning in October 2017 and continuing until August 2018, the defendants used a Twitter account with the name @HitBTCAssist to trick victims into thinking they were communicating with a customer service representative from HitBTC, a Hong Kong-based online platform used to exchange virtual currency”, it explained.

“HitBTC provides its customers with web-based ‘wallets’ to store virtual currency and make transactions.”

“Using the fraudulent Twitter account, the defendants responded to the Oregon victim’s questions about withdrawing virtual currency from her HitBTC account.

It also touched on the use of a service called Kraken, which is another cryptocurrency exchange.

“The defendants convinced the victim to send information they could use to log on and take over her email, HitBTC and Kraken accounts. Kraken is a U.S.-based online platform that offers services similar to HitBTC”, it said.

The case continues, and the Department of Justice emphasised that no party had yet been found guilty.


Chris Lee

Latest news

Forex vs Crypto: What’s Better For Beginner Traders?
The crypto and forex markets are two of the world’s most popular among investors and traders. Read more
Three Great Technical Analysis Tools for Forex Trading
You don’t have to be very technical minded to make use of technical analysis in your forex trading. Read more

Safest Forex Brokers 2024

Broker Info Best In Customer Satisfaction Score
#1 Blackbull LogoYour capital is at risk Founded: 2014 Global Forex Broker
Number One Broker
BEST SPREADS Visit broker
4.8
#2 AvaTrade LogoYour capital is at risk Founded: 2006 Globally regulated broker
Number One Broker
BEST CUSTOMER SUPPORT Visit broker
4.9
#3 * 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money Founded: 2008 Global CFD Provider
Number One Broker
Best Trading App Visit broker
5
#4 Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs Founded: 2010 Global Forex Broker
Number One Broker
Low minimum deposit Visit broker
4.9
#5 Forex Broker eToro Logo51% of retail CFD accounts lose money Founded: 2007 Global CFD & FX Broker (*Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more)
Number One Broker
ALL-INCLUSIVE TRADING PLATFORM Visit broker
4.9
#6 XM LogoYour capital is at risk Founded: 2009, 2015 and 2017 Global Forex Broker
Number One Broker
Low minimum deposit Visit broker
5
#7 FxPro LogoYour capital is at risk Founded: 2006 CFD and Cryptocurrency Broker
Number One Broker
CFD and Cryptocurrency Visit broker
5

    Forex Fraud Certified Brokers

    XM Logo
    BlackBull Logo Small
    eToro Logo
    FXTM Logo
    AvaTrade logo
    FxPro logo
    CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.