Five people have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a $21.6 million crypto fraud scheme — where they reportedly spent the stolen funds on a shark tank, private jet rides, sex workers and a luxury car.
The criminals raked in $21.6 million (20 million euros) from roughly 40,000 investors through multiple investment schemes, including the EXW Wallet and the EXW crypto token, Austrian news outlet Heute reported on Oct. 23.
Two of the defendants were sentenced to five years, two received 30 months, and one other was handed 18 months of prison time. Five were acquitted, while other members have continued to hide from authorities.
The fraud trial at the Klagenfurt Regional Court was the largest in Austrian history, Heute noted.
The sentences were handed down by Judge Claudia Bandion-Ortner on Oct. 23 after two months of trial and 300 hours of negotiations.
Heute said the fraudsters lived like they were in a “Hollywood film” — partying in some of Dubai’s “poshest” clubs and traveling between cities in private jets.
They even bought a shark tank in a villa, which news and review site BehindMLM reported to be in Bali.
Sydney-listed home shows what a lavish shark tank looks like inside a residence. Source: realestate.com.au
More than $100,000 was spent on sex workers, too, BehindMLM said in the July 12 article.
There was “no shortage of money,” Heute said.
The fraud operation was based in Dubai, but some of the stolen cash would be transported to Austria (where many of them are from) in plastic bags, Heute noted.
Related: Ex-CEO of Mine Digital stole $1.5M from Bitcoiner, regulator alleges
Austrian prosecutors indicted eight people involved in the EXW scam in September 2023, and several more were charged in the following months.
No extradition agreement between Austria and the United Arab Emirates made it tough for the prosecutors, Heute said, noting that some defendants voluntarily handed themselves in while others fled.
One of the founders of EXW Wallet, Benjamin Herzog, pled guilty last December, BehindMLM reported.
Some of the convicted defendants from the Oct. 23 verdict are apparently planning to appeal their convictions.
EXW Wallet launched in late 2019, promising EXW tokens a 0.1% to 0.32% daily return on investment. The fraud scheme collapsed several months later in 2020.
The fraudsters also promoted real-estate projects, while some of the defendants are also being investigated for a cannabis-related fraud case where $17.2 million (16 million euros) is said to have been stolen from 17,000 victims.
Magazine: The rise of Mert Mumtaz: ‘I probably FUD Solana the most out of anybody’