Former New York Stock Exchange broker Michael Ackerman on Wednesday pleaded guilty to fraud, which consisted in creating a multi-million dollar scheme "Investment Club Q3" using cryptocurrencies.
According to the US Department of Justice, Ackerman, along with his accomplices, embezzled investors ' money and spent it on buying real estate, jewelry from Tiffany, cars, travel, as well as paying for bodyguards.
"Michael Ackerman today confessed to attracting a multimillion-dollar sum as an investment with the help of his false cryptocurrency scheme. He unreasonably promised a monthly yield of more than 15%, forged documents to deceive investors, and also spent several million of the investors ' money for his own needs. Now Ackerman is awaiting sentencing for his crimes, " Prosecutor Audrey Strauss announced.
Since 2017, Ackerman has been attracting investments in dollars, which he promised to invest in cryptocurrencies. In 2019, he said that the volume of assets under the management of his fund exceeded $300 million, but all the documents confirming this turned out to be fiction.
The investigation found that from 2018 to 2019, he embezzled at least $9 million. The total damage from the activities of the scheme is estimated at more than $30 million.
"Under the terms of the agreement, Ackerman agreed to reimburse at least $30,667,738. 79. In addition, Ackerman agreed to the confiscation of $36,268,515, including millions of dollars in cash, real estate and jewelry that were fraudulently obtained from the victims or bought with the victims ' money. Akerman's sentencing is scheduled for January 5, 2022, " the Ministry of Justice adds.