San Francisco-based Jerry Guo
represented himself to clients as an ICO consultant, then embezzled
funds now worth over $20 million.
A San
Francisco man is heading to prison after a U.S. court sentenced him for
conducting a multi-million-dollar cryptocurrency fraud, according to a
Department of Justice (DOJ) press release on Tuesday.
Jerry
Ji Guo, 33, was handed a six-month sentence by U.S. District Judge Beth
Labson Freeman and ordered to pay nearly $4.4 million in restitution
after he had pleaded guilty to initial coin offering (ICO) fraud.
During
the height of the ICO craze in 2018, Guo represented himself to clients
as an ICO consultant, offering to perform marketing and consultancy
services on behalf of cryptocurrency startups.
Instead
of performing his duties as promised, Guo embezzled clients’ cash and
cryptocurrency. He was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for the crime in
November 2018.
The
San Francisco man pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in August
2019. He had been charged on a further seven counts but the additional
charges were dismissed. Guo was potentially on the hook for 20 years in
prison if he was found guilty of all charges, the Daily Beast reported at the time.
In
2019, the U.S. government obtained a stipulated application for a
preliminary order of forfeiture and also obtained warrants to seize
Guo’s client’s funds. Per a final order of forfeiture, and with the
assistance of Guo, the U.S. government is now in a position to restore
stolen property to victims.
The current value of the stolen cash and cryptocurrency is estimated to be over $20 million, according to the DOJ.
“This
case shows we can use criminal forfeiture to compensate fraud victims
even when cryptocurrency is used in the fraud,” said U.S. Attorney David
Anderson.
Guo
has also been ordered by Judge Freeman to serve a three-year period of
supervision by authorities upon his release from prison.
source link : https://www.coindesk.com/guo-prison-ico-fraud-4-4m
