The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Neil Chandran and seven other individuals and entities for orchestrating the fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme called CoinDeal.
The suspects allegedly defrauded investors with around $45 million over the years and used the money to buy real estate, cars, and a boat.
Halting the Crime
The SEC accused Neil Chandran, Michael Glaspie, Garry Davidson, Linda Knott, Amy Mossel, AEO Publishing Inc, Banner Co-Op, Inc, and BannersGo, LLC of embezzling $45 million from consumers through their fraudulent entity CoinDeal.
The individuals promised to sell the blockchain-based project to a group of prominent buyers which would guarantee great returns for investors. They also deceived them about CoinDeal’s valuation and the companies involved in the potential acquisition deal.
The defendants ran their scheme between January 2019 and 2022. CoinDeal’s sale never happened, and investors did not receive any distributions for their involvement in the project. The SEC further maintained that Chandran, Glaspie, Davidson, Knott, and Mossel used the amassed $45 million to purchase cars, properties, and a boat. Daniel Gregus – Director of the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office – commented:
“We allege the defendants falsely claimed access to valuable blockchain technology and that the imminent sale of the technology would generate investment returns of more than 500,000 times for investors.
As alleged…
