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Another Virtual Currency Player Charged with Fraud by CFTC

By Stephanie Forshee
March 01, 2018

On the heels of two enforcement actions announced in the first weeks of January, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced fraud charges against yet another company operating in the virtual currency space. The enforcement action alleges that Las Vegas-based My Big Coin Pay Inc., a virtual currency wallet and platform, misappropriated more than $6 million from its customers for “personal expenses and the purchase of luxury goods,” including a home, jewelry and fine art. “As a result, MBC customers have lost most, if not all, of their funds due to defendants' fraud and misappropriation,” the commission's Jan. 16 complaint filed in Massachusetts federal court reads. The complaint was shared publicly by the CFTC after a period of being under seal.

My Big Coin allegedly misled customers by telling them the company was being actively traded on multiple currency exchanges and by falsifying trading price reports. The company told customers it was backed by gold, which the CFTC says it was not. “In reality, the supposed trading results were illusory, and any payouts of funds to MBC customers were derived from funds fraudulently obtained from other MBC customers in the manner of a Ponzi scheme,” the lawsuit states. My Big Coin also lied to customers about a partnership with Mastercard Inc. that would allow customers to use the currency wherever Mastercard is accepted, according to the suit.

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