• Thomas Clausi was convicted of orchestrating a crypto scheme, and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
• The court also ordered him to pay 3.4 million euros ($3.7 million) in compensation to the victims and customs authorities.
• Other criminals such as Gilbert Armenta and Cooper Morgenthau have recently been sent to jail for their involvement in crypto scams.
Ferrari BTC Purchase Gone Wrong
A Frenchman named Thomas Clausi has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for orchestrating a crypto scheme that involved buying a Ferrari with Bitcoin worth $440,000. The Casablanca Court of Appeals also ordered Clausi to compensate the victims of his scam with a fine of 3.4 million euros ($3.7 million).
Other Crypto Scams
Crypto fraudsters have been quite inventive lately, draining significant sums from investors. Fortunately, law enforcement agencies have taken action by arresting some of them, including Gilbert Armenta (ex-lover of Ruja Ignatove aka “Cryptoqueen”) who was sentenced to five years for participating in the OneCoin scam, and Cooper Morgenthau (former CFO of African Gold) who was given three years for stealing $5 million from different SPACs to trade meme stocks.
Clausi’s Case
Trial proceedings against Thomas Clausi began when a Frenchwoman residing in Morocco sold him a Ferrari car for $440,000 worth of Bitcoin – an illegal payment method according to Moroccan law. Another individual also claimed that he purchased three luxury watches with counterfeit checks provided by Klausi. The court then ruled that Klausi must refund the outstanding amount owed and serve his sentence accordingly.
Latest Developments
The Casablanca magistrates recently confirmed Clausi’s 18-month sentence, although he has already served most of his time behind bars already due to time already served while on trial waiting period before sentencing is complete.
Conclusion
Crypto fraudsters continue their nefarious activities despite being caught and punished by law enforcement agencies around the world – hopefully this will serve as a deterrent for other potential scammers in the future!