A federal grand jury from the District of Oregon has indicted the Russian creators in the alleged $340 million “Global Ponzi” scam Forsage, according to a statement made public by the US Department of Justice on February 22.
Vladimir Okhotnikov, Olena Oblamska, Mikhail Sergeev and Sergey Maslakov, the four defendants, have been legally charged for playing significant roles in the Ponzi scheme that fooled millions of unsuspecting investors.
The indictment is the result of a “rigorous investigation” that took months to unravel the systematic theft of hundreds of millions of dollars, US Attorney for the District of Oregon, Natalie Wight, stated in her statements on the case.
And added,
“Prosecuting foreign agents who used new technologies to commit fraud in an emerging financial market is a complicated task that is only possible with the full and complete coordination of multiple law enforcement agencies.”
FORSAGE FOUNDERS COULD FACE 20 YEARS IN PRISON
The statement stressed that Forsage relied on smart contracts that were “consistent with a Ponzi scheme” on the Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Tron networks.
According to reports, as soon as an investor made an investment in Forsage by purchasing a “slot” in a Forsage smart contract, the smart contract would immediately distribute the investor’s funds to other Forsage investors, ensuring that previous investors were compensated with funds. from subsequent investors.
The prosecution further asserts that the defendants misrepresented Forsage for the public by presenting the investment opportunity as legitimate, risk-free and lucrative on its website and through other social media channels.
However, Blockchain analyzes allegedly showed that more than 50% of investors never received a single dividend, and 80% of “investors” received less than they had invested.
The team also allegedly misled Forsage investors by claiming that “100% of the proceeds go directly and transparently to project members with zero risk.”
Meanwhile, they noted that the defendants programmed at least one of Forsage’s accounts, known as the “xGold” smart contract, in such a way that investor assets were diverted outside of Forsage’s investment network and into cryptocurrency accounts. under the control of the founders.
If convicted, they would face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, as each is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
This indictment comes following the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged 11 people connected to Forsage with fraud in August.
Two of the defendants, Ellis and Theissen, consented to settle the allegations and be permanently barred from violating the charged provisions therefollowing, the SEC stated, neither admitting nor rebutting the allegations.