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Tag: David Brend

January 20, 2024

Former CEO of Crypto Ponzi Scheme iComTech was sentenced to 5-year prison! More Prison Sentences Expected!

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the sentencing of Marco Ruiz Ochoa to five years in prison for his involvement in the crypto Ponzi scheme IcomTech. Ochoa, 35, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Alongside his prison sentence, Ochoa has been ordered to undergo two years of supervised release and to forfeit $914,000 in criminal proceeds.

January 11, 2024

Attention: The Rise of Fraudulent Crypto Schemes Post-SEC ETF Approval!

In a cautionary tale for investors, David Carmona, founder of the notorious iComTech Ponzi scheme, has recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, facing up to 20 years in prison. This case underscores a worrying trend that we at FinTelegram expect to see more of, particularly in the wake of the SEC's recent approval of crypto ETFs. Scammers are typically very competent in using new trends for their fraud business.

December 15, 2022

U.S. Criminal & Regulatory Charges Against Operators Of Crypto Pyramid Schemes!

The U.S. SEC charge Francisley Da Silva, Juan Tacuri, Ramon Arias, and Jose Reyes for their roles in creating and promoting Forcount Trader Systems, Inc., a fraudulent crypto asset pyramid scheme that raised more than $8.4 million from hundreds of retail investors primarily from Spanish-speaking communities throughout the United States and other countries. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced criminal charges.

The Unraveling of Rabidi and the Rise of the SoftSwiss Network: Our Updated Forensic Report

A few months ago, FinTelegram released a first forensic report on the bankruptcy of Rabidi N.V., a Curacao-registered online casino operator with hundreds of millions in revenues — and no traceable assets by the time of its collapse in May 2024. That report already raised serious questions about the opaque structures behind Rabidi’s operations and its successor, Liernin Enterprises Ltd.

DeFi Decoded: Smart Contracts – The Code Behind the DeFi Revolution

Smart contracts are the invisible architects of decentralized finance. These self-executing lines of code run everything from token swaps to lending platforms without middlemen. But while they offer autonomy, they also introduce new risks—bugs, exploits, and irreversible mistakes. In this fourth installment of our FinTelegram DeFi Series, we explain what smart contracts are.

CFTC

Despite New Crypto Friendlyness: No Settlement Between U.S. CFTC And KuCoin?

A planned settlement between the U.S.CFTC and crypto exchange KuCoin is now in limbo due to a reported policy shift within the CFTC. This change is attributed to the Trump administration’s new approach, which deprioritizes enforcement actions against crypto companies. As a result, a CFTC attorney said that it is "unlikely that such authorization will be granted in the near term" regarding the settlement approval.

SEC’s New Era: Paul Atkins Sworn In—Will Crypto Finally Get the Regulatory Clarity It Deserves?

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has entered a new chapter with the swearing-in of Paul S. Atkins as its 34th Chairman, a move widely anticipated to mark a dramatic pivot in how the agency approaches crypto and DeFi regulation. For years, the financial industry—especially the burgeoning digital asset sector—has bristled under the SEC’s “Regulation by Enforcement” strategy.

Crypto Mogul Changpeng Zhao – Fallen, Rich, and Rising Again?

As spring 2025 blooms and Easter’s themes of rebirth fill the air, Changpeng Zhao emerges as one of the most controversial figures of startup mythology: a man who fell spectacularly, paid a price—then rose again, wealthier and louder than ever. Once the almighty architect of Binance, CZ now resides in Dubai with a net worth that Forbes estimates at $63 billion.