Sentencing will be Thursday, Oct. 27, for the founder of My Big Coin who was found guilty of cryptocurrency fraud of over $6 million on July 21 by a federal jury.
Randall Crater, 51, of East Hampton, New York, “was convicted of four counts of wire fraud, three counts of unlawful monetary transactions and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business,” a U.S. Department of Justice news release said.
Crater misappropriated over $6 million of investors’ funds for his personal use.
“Crater founded My Big Coin in 2013, offering virtual payment services through a fraudulent digital currency, ‘My Big Coins,’ which he marketed to investors between 2014 and 2017 using misrepresentations about the nature and value of Coins,” the news release said.
Crater was arrested and formally accused of the crimes in February 2019.
Crater faces “a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss” for the wire fraud charge. For the charges of unlawful monetary transactions, he faces “a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the value of the criminally derived property,” the news release said.
“The charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business provides for a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss,” the news release said. “Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.”
United States Attorney Rachael Rollins said Crater used “flashy marketing tactics and outright lies” to hide his fraud scheme “to get rich quick.”
“In the end, he is just another fraudster who made his way into the booming world of cryptocurrency,” Rollins said in the news release. “My office will continue to pursue criminals who seek to exploit and victimize investors with proposals based in fraud and deceit. Today’s conviction sends a clear message that we are monitoring the digital currency realm and bad actors will be found and prosecuted.”
Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division, said, “Cryptocurrency scams are on the rise.”
“[Today’s] verdict proves that Randall Crater orchestrated one when he deceived and defrauded unsuspecting investors out of more than $6 million which he spent on luxury items for himself, including artwork, antiques and jewelry,” Bonavolonta said in the news release. “The FBI works diligently to investigate this type of fraud and we thank the jury for their verdict today, and for sending a clear message of the consequences of such greed.”
Eric Shen, inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group, praised the partnership involved in solving the case.
“The defendant preyed on victims with what appeared to be an unstoppable rise in cryptocurrency values, when in reality investors were only funding his lavish lifestyle,” Shen said in the news release. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is proud to work on these complex fraud cases, alongside its federal law enforcement partners, to ensure criminals are brought to account.”
