Yahya 
The virtual money is interpersonal. Thomas John Sfraga was found guilty of wire fraud after swindling more than a dozen people into fundraising projects that never started, in particular fake cryptocurrency plots. As written in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) complaint, Sfraga induced the victim to invest some verifiable amount in the cryptocurrency wallet by promising him huge profits.
Promises of High Returns
On May 17, the DoJ statement shows that Schwarz of Sfraga and Zhazillo both have relevant backgrounds in podcasting and cryptocurrencies, with Schwarz serving as an event MC in New York, and have promised as high as 60% revenues within 3 months. In a prioritized order, the agency revealed that Sfraga was running a Ponzi scheme. Instead of gaining a legitimate profit, he paid people who recently joined his scheme with the funds newcomers pledged.
Misappropriation of Funds
Although in reality Sfargas changed the funds for personal expenses, the investigation revealed that he paid off the creditors (previous victims and business associates). Besides being friends and neighbors, Sfraga betrayed many victims throughout the process of getting rich by tricking them over $1.3 million.
The Broader Context of Crypto Fraud
Such gains are not extraordinary, though, with crypto often being the highest-rising sector. Bitcoin went as high as 65% from January 24 to April 24 this year, based on CoinMarketCap’s data. Bitcoin’s price was actually tagged at $66,825 during writing. Multiple altcoins, like Pepe (PEPE) and Dogwifhat (WIF), have yielded remarkable returns of 603% and 541%, respectively, during this timeframe.
Cryptocurrencies have experienced an upsurge in their value in recent months. However, this has not been a smooth ride, as they have also been linked with fraudulent activities.