Markenzy Lapointe U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
The founder of CluCoin, a cryptocurrency project based in Miami, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison. Austin Michael Taylor, aged 41 from Sykesville, Maryland, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in August 2024. In addition to his prison term, Taylor will face three years of supervised release and must pay restitution and forfeit assets totaling $1.14 million.
Taylor was the creator of CluCoin and owner of CLU LLC, which operated out of Miami-Dade County, Florida. He used his social media influence to attract interest in a digital token called "CLU" through an initial coin offering (ICO). The ICO aimed to raise capital by offering investors unique digital tokens in exchange for established cryptocurrencies or fiat currency. Despite initially promoting CluCoin as having a charitable focus, Taylor redirected its efforts towards other ventures like minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs), developing a computer game, and creating a metaverse platform.
In April 2022, Taylor organized "NFTCon: Into the Metaverse," an event held at a Miami hotel to boost interest and investment in CLU-related projects. By May 2022, he gained access to withdraw funds from the cryptocurrency address associated with investor contributions. Between May and December 2022, Taylor transferred approximately $1.14 million from these funds into his personal account at a virtual currency exchange and subsequently lost them through online gambling.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida alongside Acting Special Agent in Charge Justin E. Fleck of the FBI's Miami Field Office. The case was investigated by FBI offices in Miami and Washington and prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorney Manolo Reboso with asset forfeiture managed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone.
Victims identified via NFT have been notified and are encouraged to visit https://www.fbi.gov/CluCoinInvestors if they believe they were affected or received an NFT related to this case.
Further court documents can be accessed on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida under case number 24-cr-20308.
