Nevada Man Pleads Guilty in $722 Million Fraudulent Cryptocurrency Scheme


Gordon Brad Beckstead, a 57-year-old from
Henderson, Nevada, founded guilty regarding the Bitclub Network fraud, in U.S.
Locale Court in New Jersey to one count of conspiracy to commit money
laundering and one including of supporting the planning of a false tax return,
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a press release on March 24.
The announcement follows, "A Nevada man
today admitted his role in laundering funds solicited for Bitclub Network, a
$722 million fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme."
From April 2014
to December 2019 the BitClub Network requested cash from investors in return
for shares of implied cryptocurrency mining pools and compensated investors for
enrolling new investors into the plan.
Beckstead was a BitClub Network investor and conceded to scheming with others to launder more than $50 million. He additionally owned up to planning bogus 2017 and 2018 expense forms for the plan's maker and administrator, Matthew Goettsche. The profits neglected to report more than $60 million in pay procured through the plan, permitting Goettsche to try not to pay more than $20 million in government income taxes, as per the press release.
Also Read | Polygon raised $450M in an investment round led by Sequoia Capital Bets on Web3
The money laundering charge “carries a maximum
penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the
property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater,” the DOJ clarified,
adding that the tax charge “carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison
and a fine of $100,000.” However, Beckstead is expected in court for sentencing on Aug. 9.

Joyashree Dey
CBW - External Analyst
INDIA