PARTICIPATED IN A $9.5 MM CRYPTOCURRENCY PONZI SCHEME
A disbarred attorney, DK (85) of Beverly Hills, California, pleaded guilty on May 28, 2024, to operating a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme which ended up defrauding victims out of $9.5 million.
Along with some co-conspirators, DK purported falsely promised investors “guaranteed high-yield profits” and the use of AI to trade in the cryptocurrency markets. Of course, the monies were never invested and pocketed by the DK and cohorts.
In a written statement, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, noted that “[DK] abused his position as an attorney to earn the trust of investors and to endorse false statements about a purported cryptocurrency investment that was, in fact, a scam. [DK] and his co-conspirators defrauded their victims out of millions of dollars and used the victims’ money to line their own pockets …. When lawyers lend a veneer of legitimacy to fraudulent schemes, it can lead to devastating losses for victims. The Criminal Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively pursue such fraudsters and hold them to account.”
Scheduled to be sentenced on September 10, 2024, DK faces up to 5 years in prison.
Will the old coot find a way to scheme out of that?
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