The US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that it had filed charges against nine people for running two crypto Ponzi schemes, IcomTech and Forcount, also known as Weltsys. “With these two indictments, this office sends a message to all cryptocurrency scammers: We are coming for you,” said US Attorney Damian Williams in a statement. “Stealing is stealing, even when dressed up in the jargon of cryptocurrency.” IcomTech and Forcount, according to the DOJ, were both purported cryptocurrency mining and trading companies that promised investors profits in exchange for purchasing cryptocurrency-related investment products. Victims used cash, checks, wire transfers, and actual cryptocurrency to invest.
