Four Russians Charged in $340M Defi Crypto Ponzi Scheme

• Four Russians have been charged with operating a crypto pyramid and Ponzi scheme called Forsage.
• Forsage allegedly raised around $340 million from its victims and the founders face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
• U.S authorities confirmed that over 80% of Forsage investors received fewer ether (ETH) back than they had invested in its Ethereum program.

Crypto Fraudsters Charged

Four Russian citizens have been indicted for running a cryptocurrency pyramid and Ponzi scheme named Forsage, which reportedly defrauded investors of millions of dollars. If convicted, the defendants would face a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison for their roles in the decentralized finance platform.

Forsage Scheme Details

The federal grand jury in the District of Oregon issued an indictment on Wednesday, charging the founders of the investment platform with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The scheme was advertised as a decentralized matrix project based on network marketing and smart contracts, but instead it was setup as a fraudulent investment opportunity that defrauded people around the world out of approximately $340 million. The four Russian nationals used aliases while promoting the platform through websites and social media as a legitimate business venture with low risk and high returns.

Smart Contracts Used To Divert Funds

According to court documents, smart contracts on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Tron blockchains were deployed by the defendants to carry out their scheme. An analysis conducted by blockchain forensics revealed that more than 80% of Forsage investors received less ether (ETH) back than what was initially invested into its Ethereum program. Furthermore, at least one smart contract was found to be used for diverting investor funds into cryptocurrency accounts controlled by the founders.

Justice Department Investigates

U.S Attorney Natalie Wight for the District of Oregon stated that this indictment is a result of months-long investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies working together to bring charges against foreign actors who took advantage of new technology to commit fraud in an emerging financial market.

Conclusion

The four Russians are each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and if convicted they could be facing up to twenty years imprisonment for their actions related to Forsage scamming investors out of millions of dollars worldwide via cryptocurrency networks such as Ethereum’s Smart Contracts system .