I ran across this article back from November:
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-ponzi-schemer-charged-criminal-securities-fraud/.
Hory sheet. 700,000 bitcoins at its peak? I can assure you if you run some kind of ponzi or scheme that violates US laws (and as you can see, a judge ruled that cryptocurrency ponzis are still illegal) then you have probably already caught the SEC's attention. If you make a lot of money off of one of these schemes, they will almost certainly come after you. With the EU ruling that Bitcoin is a currency, this is likely to only get more severe with time.
Cryptocurrency, like the Internet in the 90's, is a new Wild West frontier. As such there are a lot of ways to make a lot of legitimate riches. There are also a lot of ways to violate traditional laws and get skullfucked by men in suits.
Someone warned me they are aggressively looking for anyone here who claims their cryptocurrency represents a business, as this also is illegal (thanks fam). It elevates your crypto to the status of a traditional security, and you aren't authorized to do that.
Finally, though I'm not aware of anyone being brought up on charges yet for it, you can bet your ass that the first convictions for "internet securities fraud" are only a matter of time with respects to these cryptocurrencies. Long story short, if you buy a bunch of a cheap shell crypto, then hype and pump up the price, then dump your share on the inflated price point you have helped create - you likely have a big target on your chest.
Sorry to the many shills and suits here for this public service warning (u mad) but remember your goal is to catch the real bad guys, right? Not pad your resume. I'm just trying to warn any stupid teens or college students not to go down the path of the darkside and get on the wrong side of the law with this new technology.
There's a lot of ways to make legitimate money in crypto. A lot of us here today are going to be disgustingly rich one day. Some of us will be in jail.
Try to stay in the realms of the former.
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