BitConnect boss accused of $2.4bn crypto-Ponzi fraud has disappeared

Satish Kumbhani, who is accused of scamming people out of $2.4bn in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, has disappeared while evading an American watchdog, a court was told this week. The BitConnect founder fled his home nation of India and went to ground in another country as the US Securities and Exchange Commission sought to …

[Winkypop]

Ponzi come

Ponzi go

Follow the crypto!

[Androgynous Cupboard]

Re: Ponzi come

Mr T Mangrove, of this parish, posted this a few weeks back - so good, I'm repeating it here in case you missed it:

https://web3isgoinggreat.com/

The "amount defrauded" counter in the bottom right is... well, priceless I suppose.

[katrinab]

Re: Ponzi come

No, follow the actual real money which flows from the victims directly into the perpetrator's pocket. The crypto stuff is just a distraction.

[silent_count]

Sounds legitimate

"[...] scheme that promised financial returns of up to 40 per cent per month"

No way that sounds too good to be true. Where do I sign up?

[b0llchit]

Re: Sounds legitimate

See that herd of Unicorns there? Right next to the pot-o-gold at the end of the nice rainbow. They have a terminal there with the most recent cleaning products.

[Neil Barnes]

Re: Sounds legitimate

And for some reason I can't quite see, the unicorns seem to be selling bridges.

[MiguelC]

Re: Sounds legitimate

Well, he did promise "up to 40%", he didn't tell how much "down to" was.

Spoiler alert, It turns out it was zero.

[katrinab]

Re: Sounds legitimate

0% is pretty good in the current market. The floor is -100%.

[Stoneshop]

The floor is -100%.

Even lower because of those ever-present transaction fees.

[Blank Reg]

Re: Sounds legitimate

Unless you're short selling, then the sky is the limit

[DS999]

Is the SEC really his biggest problem?

If you steal $2.4 million, it probably is.

If you steal $2.4 billion, there are probably some people who lost tens of millions or more and are not above putting out a hit on whoever stole it from them.

[Michael Hoffmann]

Re: Is the SEC really his biggest problem?

What you're saying is that one day he may hear a voice out of a dark alley saying "Mister Chrysoprase is VERY upset" and then find his remaining life to be short and full of incident?

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Is the SEC really his biggest problem?

"Mister Chrysoprase is VERY upset"

No, no. You've got that wrong. He's not upset. He's very disappointed. And Mr Crysoprase doesn't like to be disappointed...

[Michael Hoffmann]

Re: Is the SEC really his biggest problem?

Well now you made me walk to the bookshelf and verify:

It's definitely "very upset" and the rest of the sentence reads "and find the brief remainder of his life full of incident".

[David 132]

Re: Is the SEC really his biggest problem?

"Satish Kumbhani? I don't know who you're talking about. My name is Randolph Stippler, and I have papers to prove it..."

"And wonderful papers they are, Mr Kumbhani."

[An_Old_Dog]

Re: Is the SEC really his biggest problem?

"You stole from the wrong man."

[Pascal Monett]

Ah, the ol' hire a hitman thing

Better know how to do it right.

Apparently, hiring on Craigslist is not the best of ideas.

[David 132]

Re: Ah, the ol' hire a hitman thing

Absolutely! Everyone with any sense knows to use Angie’s List. That way your hitman has been properly peer-reviewed. “⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ : quick, efficient, even cleaned up afterwards and cancelled the newspaper delivery so as to delay suspicion. Takes most major credit cards. Would use again.”

[Fazal Majid]

All cryptocurrencies are Ponzi schemes

But I repeat myself.

[b0llchit]

Re: All cryptocurrencies are Ponzi schemes

But I repeat myself.

That should read: Repeat after me: its a ponzi scheme

Then everybody will start yelling "its a ponzi scheme" until all 7.8e9 people on earth have said it. You win and all others are simply yelling. That is a ponzi scheme!

[Graham 32]

Re: All cryptocurrencies are Ponzi schemes

I recently heard the term "bigger fool schemes". It's any scheme where you only make money if you can find a bigger fool than you.

I don't think crypto is a Ponzi scheme, but crypto, NFTs, and Ponzis, are all in the bigger fool group.

[doublelayer]

Re: All cryptocurrencies are Ponzi schemes

And this isn't cryptocurrency, it's a straightforward fraud. Had this guy said he had a bot that would trade on the stock market, it would have gone the same way.

I've said this before too, but a Ponzi scheme is a very specific kind of fraud. Cryptocurrency has seen a lot of fraudsters, often not doing a Ponzi-style fraud. Continually saying that it's a Ponzi scheme when it's a different one only makes it seem like you don't understand what Ponzi schemes are or what cryptocurrency is. It's as if I started calling all crimes burglaries; they would still be crimes and I'd still be correct that they're bad, but I wouldn't convince people because I'm continually using incorrect terms.

[chivo243]

Where's Waldo?

I'm sure that he is in a neutral country, getting plastic surgery... having his finger prints removed... perhaps other things too?!!

[DrXym]

It's all a ponzi

Every single crypto currency, of which there are thousands. They all need suckers to invest so the people who mined / generated the easy coins can exit with a real currency or profit from the transaction fees.

[Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse]

Re: It's all a ponzi

It is. And then said exchange always seems to get "mysteriously hacked" and all the cash disappears.

Fools and their money though eh...

[Anonymous Coward]

We drew our own money when we were kids

Seems people prefer others to do it for them these days, for real money.

[J. Cook]

Re: We drew our own money when we were kids

How coincidental- Today I received a package containing two sets of (licensed) fantasy coins, which were purchased at a not insignificant expense. One set is a gift, the other is joining my display of other fantasy coins that I've been collecting for a year or so. :)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: We drew our own money when we were kids

Yes, and you received something tangible.

[iron]

> fraudsters... are utilizing increasingly complex schemes to defraud investors

I disagree, their schemes are really quite simple but unfortunately there's a sucker born every minute.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hiding place

He's probably holed up in a Mumbai scam centre, and thus totally invisible to the local Police.