Promoter of BitClub Network pleads guilty to charges of conspiracy to offer and sell unregistered securities

Maria Nikolova

Joseph Frank Abel admits to securities and tax offenses related to $722 million Bitclub Network scam.

Joseph Frank Abel today admitted to conspiring to offer and sell unregistered securities and to subscribing to a false tax return in connection with his role in the BitClub Network, a cryptocurrency mining scheme worth at least $722 million.

Abel, who is among the defendants charged by indictment in December 2019, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to count two of the indictment, charging him with conspiracy to offer and sell unregistered securities. He also pleaded guilty to a separate information charging him with subscribing to a false tax return for the tax year 2017.

From April 2014 through December 2019, the BitClub Network was a fraudulent scheme that solicited money from investors in exchange for shares of purported cryptocurrency mining pools and rewarded investors for recruiting new investors into the scheme. Abel operated as a large-scale promoter of the BitClub Network. He promoted and sold shares of BitClub Network despite knowing that the network and its operators did not file a registration statement to register shares with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Abel admitted taking money from investors in exchange for shares of the BitClub Network’s purported mining pools. In order to promote shares in the BitClub Network’s mining pools, he created and posted videos to the internet and gave presentations and speeches about the BitClub Network throughout the United States and numerous other countries, including in Asia, Africa, and Europe. As part of the conspiracy, Abel instructed investors in the United States to use a virtual private network, or “VPN,” to hide their U.S.-based IP addresses and evade detection and regulation by U.S. law enforcement.

Abel admitted failing to report on a Form 1040 United States Individual Income Tax Return for the tax year 2017 approximately $1 million in cryptocurrency as income he earned from his promotion of the BitClub Network.

The conspiracy charge to which Abel pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victims. The tax charge to which Abel pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine of $100,000.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 27, 2021.

Read this next

Digital Assets

Cathie Wood’s sponsored Bitcoin ETF sees historic $200 million inflows

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), co-sponsored by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, registered historic inflows exceeding $200 million on Wednesday, signaling a robust appetite among investors for Bitcoin-centric investments.

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

Retail FX

Prop firm The Funded Trader shuts down, claims relaunch in April

Prop trading firm The Funded Trader has ceased all operations, with claims for a relaunch in the near future.

Digital Assets

Ethereum-Based Tokenized Real Estate Platform USP Launches On Republic

How This Californian Startup Is Revolutionizing Real Estate Investment through Ethereum-Based Tokenization.

Digital Assets

Sui Spikes in Weekly DEX Volume, Joins Top 10 of All Blockchains

March DEX volume on Sui stands at over $2.88B – up more than 49% from February – with decentralized exchange Cetus and wholesale liquidity layer DeepBook leading.

Digital Assets

Prisma Finance suffers $10 million crypto exploit, attack ongoing

Liquid staking protocol Prisma Finance fell victim to a security exploit on March 28, resulting in nearly $10 million in Prisma mkUSD and wrapped stETH being stolen by hackers.

<