Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to role in $7M fraudulent scheme

Hacks • October 2, 2020, 3:27PM EDT
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A Pennsylvania man has pled guilty to his involvement in a multimillion-dollar fraudulent scheme, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday. 

Cryptocurrency escrow company head J. Barry Thompson admitted to his role in a scheme to defraud two clients of over $3 million. According to the announcement, Thompson promised the clients the $3 million Bitcoin transfer in June and July of 2018, but never made the transactions. 

Thompson was arrested in late July 2019 and pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan federal court.

He could face a maximum of ten years in prison and will be required to pay nearly $7.5 million in restitution to the parties involved. He will also be permanently banned from registering with the CFTC, trading any commodity interests and trading Bitcoin. 

Thompson will undergo official sentencing in January 2021. 

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Saniya More profile picture Saniya More

Saniya More (pronounced: Saan-ya Mo-ray) is a quadrilingual journalist at The Block. She got her master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and did her undergraduate degree at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. Her work has appeared in CBS News, Bangkok Post, Thai Enquirer, Globalists, Byline Times and other publications. When she’s not chasing a story, you will most likely find her biking, tweeting, taking photos or creating Spotify playlists for every occasion.

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