According to the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission, John Louis Anthony Bigatton advertised the cryptocurrency loan platform in two social media posts and four seminars.
An Australian man entered a guilty plea to his role in marketing cryptocurrency lending services for BitConnect, the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange. BitConnect was a notorious organisation that operated as a Ponzi scam and was shut down in 2018 after it was reported that it had defrauded customers out of over $2.4 billion.
The Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC) stated in a statement on May 17 that “Mr Bigatton provided financial product advice without holding an Australian Financial Services licence or authorization to provide financial services about the lending platform.”
According to ASIC, John Louis Anthony Bigatton provided financial product advice in his capacity as BitConnect’s national promoter on six separate times at various places throughout Australia, at four seminars, and through two social media posts.
Mr. Bigatton engaged in marketing efforts for BitConnect and the Lending Platform via social media, in-person meetings with investors, and seminars he conducted at several venues across Australia. As an investment opportunity, BitConnect’s lending platform enticed investors to purchase BitConnect coin (BCC) via its website.
High interest rates would be offered in exchange for a fixed-term loan to BCC from investors. Their inability to manage their loans or take money out till the loan period was up resulted from their investment.
The United States Internal Revenue Service claims that it was set up this manner so the platform could function as a Ponzi scheme, rewarding early BitConnect investors with funds from later investors. July 5 is the date of the sentencing hearing.
BitConnect was founded in February 2016 and ran a digital currency and platform until it was shut down in January 2018. With the money from investors, the founders eventually disappeared.
A few years later, in January 2023, a $17 million restitution order for the fraudulent scheme was issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. A court ruling that they will receive a portion of the $17 million reparations provided some relief for a handful of victims of the multibillion dollar BitConnect investment scheme. We still don’t know where founder Satish Kumbhani is.