
Randall Crater was ordered to pay back the millions lost by victims of his fraudulent crypto scheme and spend 100 months in jail followed by a three-year supervised release.
Founder of “My Big Coin” Randall Crater has been sentenced to 100 months in prison and ordered to pay over $7.6 million to the victims of his fraudulent scheme.
The U.S. Department of Justice said on Jan. 31 that Crater was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Denise Casper in Massachusetts.
The sentence comes after Crater was convicted by a federal jury on July 21 on four counts of wire fraud, three counts of unlawful monetary transactions and one count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
Randall Crater, the founder of "My Big Coin," a purported cryptocurrency company, was sentenced today to more than eight years in federal prison for a multi-million dollar fraud scheme uncovered by #FBI Boston and @USPIS_BOS. https://t.co/567NYPndRU pic.twitter.com/a3eKaogij4
— FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) January 31, 2023
My Big Coin was founded by Crater in 2013 and falsely marketed as a cryptocurrency payment service, luring victims between 2014 and 2017.
Crater claimed the coins on My Big Coin were fully functional cryptocurrencies backed by gold and that the platform had a partnership with Mastercard.
Crater also marketed the “My Big Coin Exchange,” advertised as a crypto exchange where the coins could be swapped for U.S. dollars and other fiat currencies.
A significant portion of the $7.6 million obtained by Crater and his marketing team went toward a house, several cars and over $1 million in antiques, artwork and jewelry.
U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement the damage done by Crater inflicted a serious amount of trauma and financial hardship on his victims:
“For nearly four years, Mr. Crater perpetrated a brazen fraud scheme that preyed on investors and customers who put their faith in him and his fake business, resulting in victim losses of over $7.5 million.”
“His lies and deception inflicted real trauma, pain and hardship on the lives of 55 individual victims and their families who funneled their money into bank accounts Mr. Crater controlled and used to finance his extravagant lifestyle,” she added.
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Even after his conviction, Crater continued to protest his innocence, stating in an Oct. 21 YouTube video that a My Big Coin credit card did in fact exist and claiming that an investor testified under oath to having used the card multiple times.
Legal action against Crater dates back to Sept. 25, 2018, when now-former Judge Rya Zobel of the Massachusetts District Court ruled against a motion to dismiss a case launched by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The Department of Justice officially filed criminal charges against Crater on Feb. 19, 2019.
After Crater’s 100-month tenure behind bars, he will be subject to a supervised release for the following three years.
Anyone can buy the newly launched NFTiff, but Punk holders who own an NFTiff can also redeem it for a custom pendant.
On Monday, the trading volume of CryptoPunks, one of the sector's most popular nonfungible token (NFT) collections, surged by 1,847% over 24 hours. Over $1,226.68 Ether (ETH) worth of Punk NFTs was traded during that time. The surge in interest appears to be tied to luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. launch of its own NFT collection, which has a special perk for Punk holders.
Dubbed "NFTiffs," the collection consists of 250 digital passes. Anyone can purchase NFTiffs, which are minted on the Ethereum blockchain. However, CryptoPunk holders can redeem the NFT for a customized-jewelry experience. After purchase, Punk holders can elect to receive a custom-designed pendant and an NFT digital artwork that resembles the final jewelry design. These are crafted by the company's in-house artisans and inspired by the Punks NFT collection.
Depending on the color palette of the Punk NFT, Tiffany will create pendants using at least 30 gemstones such as sapphires, amethyst, spinel and diamonds with its frame in 18karat rose or yellow gold. Buyers will receive a rendering of their piece by October, with anticipated physical delivery in 2023.
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Each NFTiff will cost 30 Ether, which covers the cost of the NFT, custom pendant and chain, as well as shipping and handling. There is a limit of three passes per customer, with the sale commencing on Aug. 5 at 10:00 am and a redemption deadline of Aug. 12 at 9:00 pm Eastern Time.
At the time of publication, CryptoPunks have a floor price of 74.75 ETH, meaning that jewelry enthusiasts must pay around $125,000 for a Punk NFT on top of 30 ETH for an NFTiff if they wish to participate in the custom jewelry experience.