Assistant U. S. Attorneys Carl Brooker, Lisa Sanniti, and Mark Pletcher
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY—September 16, 2022
SAN DIEGO— A Los Angeles man was sentenced in federal court today to 38 months in prison for his participation in BitConnect, a massive fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme, which defrauded thousands of investors from the United States and abroad.
According to court documents, Glenn Arcaro, 44, conspired with others to exploit investor interest in cryptocurrency by fraudulently marketing BitConnect’s proprietary coin offering and digital currency exchange as a lucrative investment. Arcaro and others misled investors about BitConnect’s “Lending Program.” Under this program, Arcaro touted BitConnect’s purported proprietary technology, known as the “BitConnect Trading Bot” and “Volatility Software,” as being able to generate substantial profits and guaranteed returns by using investors’ money to trade on the volatility of cryptocurrency exchange markets.
In truth, however, BitConnect operated a textbook Ponzi scheme by paying earlier BitConnect investors with money from later investors. Furthermore, Arcaro and others ensured up to 15 percent of the money invested into BitConnect went directly into a slush fund to be used for the benefit of the owner and promoters of BitConnect. The BitConnect Ponzi scheme ensnared 4,154 victims from 95 countries making it a true worldwide Ponzi scheme.
U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman…
