A US District Court has sentenced a man to three years in prison for defrauding investors and stealing more than $2 million using a cryptocurrency mining scam.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said citizen Chet J. Stojanovich, also known as Chester J. Stojanovich, ran Chet Mining Co LLC from 2019 until his arrest in April 2022. . He promised clients to provide them with special equipment for mining cryptocurrencies and provide them with hosting services for miners.

The US Department of Justice claims that the defendant embezzled the money of his victims without providing them with miners and equipment placement services purchased from him. Stojanović spent the funds he received on personal expenses and a luxurious lifestyle.

Last November, Stojanovic pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. The defendant has now been sentenced to three years in prison for fraud.

“Chet Stojanovic took advantage of the latest trends in the financial sector to swindle his victims out of $2 million. This case serves as further evidence that even in innovative areas, old methods of fraud are being used. However, our law enforcement agencies are always ready to eradicate these schemes,” the prosecutor said.

At the beginning of the year, the US Department of Justice announced that it would return $17 million to investors affected by the BitConnect cryptocurrency pyramid. In November, the agency also began investigating the November hack of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.