A 20-year-old Singapore citizen pleaded guilty to cryptocurrency fraud. He convinced his friends that he would help them invest over $240,000 in bitcoin.
The name of the young man is not known, as he committed illegal acts as a minor and is under the protection of the Law on Children and Youth. According to Deputy Prosecutor Cheng You Duen, in 2017, the young man began to profit from trading in-game items for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and other games.
In November 2017, he decided to increase his profits by selling more expensive items, but he did not have enough money to buy them. The young man wanted to ask his friends for money, but he was sure that they would refuse him if they found out what he needed the funds for.
So he lied to his friends, saying that he invested in foreign currencies and crypto assets. The “crypto trader” told them that he was allegedly consistently making large profits from bitcoin trading, and guaranteed the buddies a fixed income if they invested in cryptocurrencies through it.
Thus, the young man convinced seven friends to invest in BTC, collecting funds from them for a total of 332,000 Singapore dollars (about $240,650). However, instead of the promised bitcoin investment, he used the money he received to buy in-game items and returned only SGD 82,000 (about $59,400) to his friends.
One of the victims of the cunning trader was his 17-year-old classmate, who, between January and August 2018, gave 188,000 Singapore dollars ($136,200) to the deceiver. His so-called “return on investment” was only 40,000 Singapore dollars (about $28,900). In October 2018, he contacted the police. Another victim did not receive any profit at all, although he entrusted a friend with 5,000 Singapore dollars (about $3,600).
The offender’s lawyer argues that the client’s actions were caused by the teenager’s desire to get closer to his peers. According to the defense, the young man hoped to win their friendship by convincing them that he was well versed in cryptocurrencies and trading. However, the prosecutor’s office believes that a partial return of money to the victims does not at all indicate the remorse of the offender. The court may appoint the youth a probationary period and corrective labor.
Recall that in February, Singapore police arrested four people suspected of creating the A&A Blockchain Technology Innovation cryptocurrency pyramid. At the beginning of the year, law enforcement agencies have already warned the citizens of Singapore that the number of scams related to investments in cryptocurrencies is growing in the country.
Source: Bits
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