Two masterminds of the Telecoin cryptocurrency scam will each serve more than six years in jail after a court in the United Kingdom found them guilty of fraud. According to Lee Parish, the detective chief inspector, the duo used the allure of crypto investment to dupe prospective investors.
Fraudulent Sale of Shares
A court in the United Kingdom has convicted and jailed masterminds of the Telecoin cryptocurrency scam Ross Jay and Michael Freckleton to more than six years in prison each. In sentencing the duo, the Southwark Crown Court said Jay and Freckleton had orchestrated a fraudulent sale of shares and used the proceeds for personal gain.
According to a statement on the City of London Police website, the duo perpetrated the scam between 2015 and 2017. During this period, the two scammers successfully convinced their victims to deposit a little over $650,000 into a bank account which they controlled via their company Digi Ex.
Commenting on how Jay and Freckleton were able to dupe victims for more than three years, Detective Chief Inspector Lee Parish said:
It’s easy for investors, and sadly victims in this case, to be sucked into what they think is an area of potential and growth for their hard-earned cash due to how new the area of crypto investment is. Jay and Freckleton exploited this mindset and knowingly chose to simply take the victims’ money for their own financial gain, with no intention whatsoever of providing a service that even resembled a credible investment.
Parish also suggested that the jail terms handed to the duo should highlight to prospective investors the importance of doing research before committing to investing.
Meanwhile, the statement also revealed that Jay and Freckleton had paid themselves salaries amounting to more than $178,000. They also withdrew more than $186,000 from Digi Ex’s bank account.
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