Oklahoma Man Will get 5-Yr Sentence for $9.4M Crypto Ponzi Scheme – Decrypt

Federal prosecutors have secured a five-year jail time period for an Oklahoma resident who admitted to operating a fraudulent crypto funding scheme that operated for eight months earlier than collapsing.

Travis Ford, 36, was sentenced on Thursday to 60 months in jail and ordered to pay over $1 million in forfeiture and over $170,000 in restitution, in accordance with an announcement by the U.S. Division of Justice revealed Friday.

Ford may also serve three years of supervised launch after his jail time period. He pleaded responsible to at least one rely of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in January.

As co-founder and CEO, Ford promoted Wolf Capital as a high-yield buying and selling platform and marketed every day features “between 1-2% per day, amounting to roughly 547% per yr” in accordance with charging paperwork revealed by the U.S. Division of Justice late final yr.

Wolf Capital “acquired roughly $9.4 million in investments from roughly 2,800 traders,” the file reads.

Between January 2023 as much as about August 2023, Ford “solicited investments by means of the corporate web site and different social media and internet-based promotion actions,” in accordance with a abstract by the DOJ’s legal division. Ford “held himself out as a complicated dealer in a position to ship excessive returns” regardless of realizing “such returns weren’t attainable to realize persistently,” the assertion reads.

Alongside co-conspirators, Ford “made such false guarantees to induce members of the general public to take a position cash,” prosecutors wrote.

Particulars of the sentencing on Thursday have been first reported by native outlet Tulsa World.

Ford reportedly instructed investigators Wolf Capital Crypto’s operations had “paid out” between $4 million and $5 million to traders earlier than its collapse, with the remaining funds misplaced by means of his personal buying and selling exercise.

In a written plea settlement referenced in native reporting, Ford acknowledged that he “didn’t consider these funding returns have been attainable to realize persistently.”

Having invested over $100,000, one sufferer testified that he relied on Ford’s representations and instructed the court docket he hoped the choose would impose a harsh punishment. Ford responded saying he took “full duty” for the hurt and stated he was “targeted on making it proper,” in accordance with the native outlet’s account.

Decrypt has reached out to the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Northern District of Oklahoma to request the ultimate judgment and ensure the sentencing particulars.

In an announcement issued to native press, Ford’s consultant defined their consumer “obtained concerned with a European Block gangster often called 0x” by means of the web, later wading “knee-deep on this mess.”

It’s value noting that “0x” is a standard prefix in crypto communities, usually used for on-line handles or shorthand to indicate affinity inside crypto circles. The prefix seems in Ethereum addresses, sensible contract identifiers, and different hex-encoded information drawn from cryptography.

Decrypt has reached out to Ford’s authorized consultant for remark, in addition to for particulars concerning the person or group they have been referring to as 0x.