{"id":10033,"date":"2021-09-16T16:13:33","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T15:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/?p=10033"},"modified":"2021-09-16T16:13:42","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T15:13:42","slug":"aussie-crypto-fund-manager-gets-7-years-jail-term-for-stealing-54m-from-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/aussie-crypto-fund-manager-gets-7-years-jail-term-for-stealing-54m-from-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie crypto fund manager gets 7 years jail term for stealing $54M from investors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A fund manager was sentenced to 7 years in <a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/us-canadian-citizen-gets-11-years-in-prison-for-his-role-in-a-north-korean-crypto-hacking-scheme.html\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"9628\">prison<\/a> for running a $54 million Ponzi scheme.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/image-141.png\" alt=\"Aussie crypto fund manager gets 7 years jail term for stealing $54M from investors\" class=\"wp-image-10035\" width=\"765\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/image-141.png 739w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/image-141-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/image-141-355x200.png 355w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 765px) 100vw, 765px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Aussie+crypto+fund+manager+gets+7+years+jail+term+for+stealing+%2454M+from+investors&client=ms-android-huawei-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Aussie+crypto+fund+manager+gets+7+years+jail+term+for+stealing+%2454M+from+investors&client=ms-android-huawei-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aussie crypto fund manager<span class=\"wpil-link-icon\" title=\"Link goes to external site.\" style=\"margin: 0 0 0 5px;\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"height:16px; width:16px; fill:#000000; stroke:#000000; display:inline-block;\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:svg=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><g id=\"wpil-svg-outbound-7-icon-path\" fill=\"none\" clip-path=\"url(#clip0_31_188)\">\r\n                            <path d=\"M9.16724 14.8891L20.1672 3.88908\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/>\r\n                            <path d=\"M13.4497 3.53554L20.5208 3.53554L20.5208 10.6066\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\r\n                            <path d=\"M17.5 13.5L17.5 16.26C17.5 17.4179 17.5 17.9968 17.2675 18.4359C17.0799 18.7902 16.7902 19.0799 16.4359 19.2675C15.9968 19.5 15.4179 19.5 14.26 19.5L7.74 19.5C6.58213 19.5 6.0032 19.5 5.56414 19.2675C5.20983 19.0799 4.92007 18.7902 4.73247 18.4359C4.5 17.9968 4.5 17.4179 4.5 16.26L4.5 9.74C4.5 8.58213 4.5 8.0032 4.73247 7.56414C4.92007 7.20983 5.20982 6.92007 5.56414 6.73247C6.0032 6.5 6.58213 6.5 7.74 6.5L11 6.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/>\r\n                        <\/g>\r\n                        <defs>\r\n                            <clipPath id=\"clip0_31_188\">\r\n                                <rect fill=\"white\" height=\"24\" width=\"24\"\/>\r\n                            <\/clipPath>\r\n                        <\/defs><\/svg><\/span><\/a> gets 7 years for stealing $54M. Stefan He Qin, founder of two bitcoin hedge funds, was sentenced to over seven years in prison for defrauding investors of $54 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The DoJ said on Sept. 15 that U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni sentenced Qin to 90 months in prison for scamming his <a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/el-salvador-to-exempt-bitcoin-investors-from-paying-tax.html\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"9772\">investors<\/a> of $54 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between 2017 and 2020, the 24-year-old Australian owned and controlled two cryptocurrency investment funds, Virgil Sigma and VQR (established in February 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Qin used investor funds to pay for personal costs like food, rent, and private investments since 2017, despite Virgil Sigma's claims to invest client funds in bitcoin arbitrage methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To prevent investor suspicion, Qin fabricated fake account statements and tax paperwork saying the firm had been profitable every month from August 2016 to March 2017 except March 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Qin intended to steal assets from VQR to satisfy redemption demands from Sigma's investors after lying to them about the \u201cvalue, location, and status of their investment capital\u201d (despite <a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/celsius-reportedly-holds-more-than-20b-in-digital-assets.html\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"8537\">Sigma<\/a> claiming $90 million in assets).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Qin directed VQR's lead trader to close all positions and move cash to Australia in December 2020. Despite warnings from VQR's investors, the head trader unwound positions and delivered monies to Qin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/esma-see-crypto-as-a-sign-of-increased-risk-taking.html\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"10039\">securities<\/a> fraud charge was dropped on Feb. 4, 2021. U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss remarked in a recent announcement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Qin\u2019s brazen and wide-ranging scheme left his beleaguered investors in the lurch for over $54 million, and he has now been handed the appropriately lengthy sentence of over seven years in federal prison.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Qin was also fined $54 million and sentenced to three years of probation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regulators around the world have increasingly emphasised the rise of crypto frauds, with <a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/esma-see-crypto-as-a-sign-of-increased-risk-taking.html\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"10039\">SEC<\/a> Chairman Gary Gensler stressing how regulatory gaps might put consumers at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cInvestors may be less sceptical of new or \u2018cutting-edge' investment opportunities, or may get caught up in FOMO,\u201d Gensler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since October 2020, the FTC documented over $80 million in consumer losses due to cryptocurrency investment schemes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A fund manager was sentenced to 7 years in prison for running a $54 million Ponzi scheme. Aussie crypto fund manager gets 7 years for stealing $54M. Stefan He Qin, founder of two bitcoin hedge funds, was sentenced to over seven years in prison for defrauding investors of $54 million. The DoJ said on Sept. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[1135,367,143],"class_list":["post-10033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-fraud","tag-investors","tag-sec"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/image-141.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}