- A promoter of the Bitcoiin scam has pleaded guilty to conning investors
- John DeMarr helped promote Bitcoiin which promised 8,000% returns
- The scam was busted by the SEC and three team members were charged in February
An associate of the Bitcoiin scam that hired actor Steven Seagal to be its frontman has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud investors. John DeMarr promoted Bitcoiin, a shameless spin off from the original, helping the project raise $11 million based on the claim that it could guarantee 8,000% returns. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was less optimistic about investors’ chances, charging those behind it with misappropriating the funds entrusted to it. Six months after Bitcoiin denied the allegations, DeMarr has pleaded guilty to committing securities fraud in the latest effort by the SEC to punish those who ran illegal ICOs during the 2017-18 boom.
Seagal Settled with SEC in February
DeMarr was one of three Bitcoiin associates charged by the SEC in February, with founder Kristijan Krstic hiring DeMarr and another man, Robin Enos, to promote the scam. Calling the project the “2nd generation of the original Bitcoin”, the trio marketed it as a guaranteed winner, calling on Seagal to be the face of the Bitcoiin, something that got him in hot water with the SEC too, forcing him to settle with the SEC just weeks after he himself was charged with failing to disclose a payment to promote the coin.
“False” Allegations Prove Entirely True
Bitcoiin angrily denied the claims at the time of the SEC charges, saying that the allegations were “false and just an attempt to discourage people from becoming a part of the Bitcoiin2Gen, Crypto-Currencies, and Crypto-economies.” However, with DeMarr pleading guilty and Krstic set to follow, it seems that, shock horror, these denials might have been a bluff. How much of the Bitcoiin ICO money is left is unknown at this point, although the trio have been ordered to pay investors back with whatever remains.
