- Bitconnect promoter Glenn Arcaro has been handed a 38-month prison sentence for his part in advertising the scam
- Arcaro earned $24 million as a lead North American promoter, all of which he will have to pay back
- Arcaro tried to funnel his money abroad to avoid paying income tax
A promoter of the Bitconnect scam that blew up in early 2018 when valued at $3.4 billion has been handed a 38-month prison sentence and must pay back the $24 million he earned as part of it. Glenn Arcaro, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to exploit investor interest in the Ponzi scheme by fraudulently marketing its proprietary coin offering and exchange platform as a lucrative investment. As we now know it was nothing more than a huge scam, and Arcaro will have to pay for his part in promoting it with both his money and freedom.
Arcaro Pleaded Guilty in 2021
Arcaro was charged with his part in the Bitconnect scam in early 2021 and pleaded guilty last September, admitting that he used social media to make “materially false and misleading statements, while concealing material facts” in order to persuade investors that Bitconnect was a lucrative investment. This included posting videos that mocked those who questioned Bitconnect’s eligibility as well as those who lost money on the scam before it collapsed.
Foreign Passports and Precious Metals
Arcaro was the head of a large network of promoters in North America, earning as much as 15 percent of every investment into the Bitconnect Lending Program, which led to him amassing a $24 million fortune on the back of it.
He attempted to protect his funds by moving them into offshore accounts and transforming some of the proceeds into precious metals storage. He also obtained foreign passports, all with the goal of avoiding paying federal and state income taxes on his income earned from the scheme and to shield his assets from collection by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Arcaro will now have to repay this $24 million to investors in restitution or have it forfeited to the government. He will also spend 38 months in prison, after which his eight-year association with Bitconnect will finally be over.
