Image: Siegfried Layda
Hacking. Disinformation. Surveillance. CYBER is Motherboard's podcast and reporting on the dark underbelly of the internet.
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Starting in around 2017, Ackerman and others started an investment fund where participants would send U.S. dollars with the hope that Ackerman would invest it into cryptocurrency. The investment fund claimed it was earning around 15 percent in profit each month, the announcement reads.Later in 2019, Ackerman claimed that the fund had grown in value to around $315 million dollars. But Ackerman had faked screenshots to lie about the 15 percent profit and the $315 million fund total, the announcement added.Ackerman faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and has agreed to pay restitution of at least $30,667,738.79, as well as forfeiture of $36,268,515, including the jewellery that he bought with the fraudulently gained funds.Subscribe to our cybersecurity podcast, CYBER.Do you know about any other cryptocurrency scams? We'd love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, or email joseph.cox@vice.com.