Founders Hit With $25.8M Penalty for Defrauding Crypto Investors

A Massachusetts federal court has ordered My Big Coin Pay, Inc. and My Big Coin, Inc., along with individuals Mark Gillespie of Michigan and John Roche of California, to collectively pay nearly $25.8 million in penalties and restitution to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The ruling was issued on Wednesday by the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts and stems from a long-running digital asset fraud scheme involving the fraudulent sale of a virtual currency known as My Big Coin (MBC).

The court’s decision includes a $19.3 million civil monetary penalty and an additional $6.4 million in restitution for customers who were deceived by misleading claims about the coin’s value and backing.

According to the CFTC’s official press release, from January 2014 to June 2017, the defendants falsely promoted MBC as a fully functional digital currency backed by gold and actively traded on established platforms. In reality, the currency lacked any such support or market presence.

Over $6 million was collected from at least 28 customers under pretenses, while the funds were largely misappropriated by co-defendant Randall Crater, who was previously convicted and sentenced to more than eight years in prison for his central role in the scheme.

The court’s latest order resolves the commodities regulator’s civil enforcement claims against Gillespie, Roche, and the two Nevada-based My Big Coin companies. It also imposes a permanent trading ban on the defendants, barring them from participating in any CFTC-regulated markets or registering with the agency.

Crater, the primary orchestrator of the fraud, was earlier sentenced in a separate criminal case and ordered to forfeit and repay more than $7.6 million

In a statement, the agency said.

“The CFTC cautions that orders requiring repayment of funds to victims may not result in the recovery of any money lost because the wrongdoers may not have sufficient funds or assets. The CFTC will continue to fight vigorously for the protection of customers and to ensure the wrongdoers are held accountable.”