Men 'Building Model On The Backs Of Idiots' Arrested For $722M Cryptocurrency Scam

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday arrested three men on charges of running a Ponzi scheme, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito said in a statement.

The arrested men — Matthew Brent Goettsche, Jobadiah Sinclair Weeks, and Joseph Frank Abel — are accused of duping $722 million from the investors of their cryptocurrency mining company called BitClub Network between 2014 and 2019. Two other defendants remain at large.

The Justice Department said that the accused solicited money from investors promising them shares in supposed cryptocurrency mining pools, and offered them additional rewards for bringing in new investors.

One of the accused, Goettsche, referred to the company’s investors as “dumb,” and “sheep.”
Goettsche said that he was “building this whole model on the backs of idiots,” and ultimately hoped to “retire RAF!! (rich as f*ck),” the Justice Department said.

“What they allegedly did amounts to little more than a modern, high-tech Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims of hundreds of millions of dollars. Working with our law enforcement partners here and across the country, we will ensure that these scammers are held to account for their crimes,” Carpenito said in the statement.

Weeks, who has been charged for offering and selling unregistered securities, faces up to five years in prison if found guilty. Goettsche and Abel have been additionally charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and face up to 20 years in prison. All three face a fine of up to $250,000.