The once big-time computer programmer Maksim Zaslavskiy, who was known for his prominent role in the crypto industry, was charged for fraud in 2017 and recently convicted for operating an initial coin offering (ICO) scam. This is the very first time anyone is going in for conducting a fraudulent ICO scheme.
Of course, he is not the first ICO scammer. As a matter of fact, hundreds of fraudulent ICOs were discovered in the ICO heyday of 2017, across many countries on the map. As if that is not enough, another hundreds of these fraudulent schemes have been uncovered since then.
Why Is Zaslavskiy the First ICO Fraudster Charged and Sentenced?
Well, in a manner of speaking, he is the first: This is because this is the first time an operator of a fraudulent ICO scheme is serving time for it. Before now, the court typically compelled offenders to make restitution, pay penalties, and the likes, while the ICOs are also obviously cease to operate.
This time, the court is sending a strong message to other offenders out there – including those looking to make money off a cryptocurrency scheme – that they could actually end up in prison when caught.
This was made clear during the case, when assistant U.S Attorney, Julie Nestor, asserted that “cases like Zaslavskiy’s are a dime a dozen, so a stiff sentence was necessary to send a message other fraudsters in the crypto-currency world.”
The presiding judge, who has already pointed out that ICO scammers such as Zaslavskiy are thieves and that security laws apply to ICOs, agreed with Nestor and further stressed that “this is a very unusual case for a lot of reasons. It involves new technologies and new currencies. But there is nothing new about lying or flagrant fraud.”
The judge even went further and during the trial expressed his utter disgust at Zaslavskiy:
“You are a thief. You took something that didn’t belong to you under false pretenses.”
The Sentence of the ICO Scammer
The ICO scam mastermind reportedly deceived his investors into believing that his digital coin was backed by real estate properties. The court also reported other false statements including deceiving unsuspecting clients into believing that the digital coin was used for property investments in the U.S. and overseas.
In addition to that, Zaslavskiy reportedly switched to marketing another digital currency which he tagged exclusive for tokenized membership pool. Sadly, these and other misrepresentations were all a facade to defraud investors.
The court found Zaslavskiy guilty and he was handed a sentence of 18 months in prison.
If there will ever be a book for all the ‘firsts’ in the crypto ecosystem, then this event will eventually make it in there. While the crypto community has recorded a plethora of amazing landmarks, it is sad – but inevitable – to add that there have been some not really heartwarming landmarks too.
