As you may have learned from recent media reports, a Las Vegas man was just charged for running a major crypto scam for several years. He reportedly acquired some $45 million, 39 new Tesla vehicles, and many other items in the process.
According to a report published by Teslarati, the crypto scam artist scammed over 10,000 people during a four-year period beginning back in June 2018. He basically told investors via an email that a small investment of less than $100,000 would eventually bring $2 trillion, though it was all fabricated to rip people off.
Last week, on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, the crypto scammer Neil Suresh Chandran was indicted by a federal grand jury. He had encouraged people to send him money to invest. In order to convince them that they should send the funds, he explained that one of his five businesses was in the process of being acquired by rich investors, which would generate massive returns. He claimed to own businesses related to cryptocurrency and virtual reality.
Interestingly, both Tesla CEO Elon Musk and executive chairman and founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos are indirectly mentioned in the official documents surrounding the case. However, to be very clear, it's noted that neither "Billionaire" played any part in the scam.
Chandran made apparent claims about Musk, who is referred to as the “founder and CEO of an electric car company" and "Billionaire 2" in the documents. Teslarati also notes that the indictment refers to Bezos as “Billionaire 1” and the “founder and executive chairman of a large online retailing company.”
When Chandran was arrested in LA, it was learned that he had five homes spread between California and Nevada, stolen money, an expensive Swiss diamond watch, a Ferrari, a Rolls-Royce, a boat, three RVs, two pickup trucks, several other vehicles, and 39 Tesla EVs. The Teslas included three Model X, four Model S, 15 Model 3, and 16 Model Y.
The indictment points to money laundering, though it doesn't seem clear precisely how the whole scam unfolded. The documents do, however, share that Chandran and some others may have received money from investors, which was then used illegally.
The scam artist is accused of multiple counts of wire fraud and the use of stolen or illegally obtained property. He could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for each offense.
