The first federal securities fraud case involving a bitcoin investment scheme has ended with perpetrator Trendon Shavers receiving a sentence of 18 months in prison.
In addition, Shavers was assessed penalties including three years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, $1.2m in forfeiture and $1.2m in restitution.
The decision puts to rest a case that began in July 2013 when Shavers was charged with defrauding investors through an investment service called Bitcoin Savings and Trust (BCS&T), which was later deemed to be a fraudulent ponzi scheme.
Shavers, who was charged with one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, faced up to 40 years in prison. He pled not guilty to fraud charges in March 2015, a decision he would later reverse in September of that year as part of a plea deal that lowered his possible sentence to a maximum of 41 months.
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-18-months-prison-bitcoin-savings-trust/