District Judge Todd Robinson granted the request of the US Department of Justice and the Office of the Prosecutor of the Southern District of California to liquidate $56 million confiscated from the "number one promoter" of the BitConnect cryptocurrency pyramid.
On September 1, Glenn Arcaro pleaded guilty to defrauding BitConnect investors in the United States and abroad, with the participation of which the scheme managed to attract over $ 2 billion. The verdict will be handed down on January 7, 2022 - Arkaro faces up to 20 years in prison.
"After the entry into force of the court order on the sale, the authorities will begin the procedure for compensation of damage to the victims of the BitConnect scheme. To do this, the cryptocurrency will be sold, and the proceeds will be withheld in US dollars," the Ministry of Justice said in a publication.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission previously named Arcaro as the head of BitConnect promotion.
"Arcaro and his promoters, none of whom was registered with the commission as a broker-dealer and was not associated with a registered broker-dealer, promoted potentially high-yield investments in the lending program among retail investors using recommendation-style videos that they published on YouTube, sometimes several times a day, with referral links to the lending program," the regulator stated.
The Ministry of Justice also notes that this is "the largest case of a one-time refund of losses from cryptocurrency fraud in the United States." BitConnect victims are invited to submit applications on the agency's website.