Eddy Alexandre – a man in New York – entered a guilty plea in mid-February this year after conducting a crypto fraud scheme that stole nearly $250 million from assorted investors.
Eddy Alexandre Pleads Guilty
Damian Williams – the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York – issued a statement claiming that Alexandre, between the months of September 2021 and May 2022, ran an illegal crypto exchange known as Emini FX. During that time, Alexandre solicited as much as $248 million from tens of thousands of investors after making numerous false claims about the validity of the company.
Williams explained:
Eddy Alexandre admitted today to luring investors to his cryptocurrency investment scam by fabricating weekly returns of at least five percent. In reality, Alexandre failed to invest a substantial portion of investors’ money and even used some funds for personal purchases. Alexandre’s scam caused investors to lose millions of dollars, and this case should serve as another warning to cryptocurrency executives that the Southern District of New York is closely watching and ready to prosecute any and all misconduct in the crypto markets.
Throughout the months of the company’s operation, Alexandre stated that he would be able to offer investors exclusive access to passive income through an automated investment system in both crypto and forex trading. He also “guaranteed” investors returns utilizing technology he claimed was secret.
To be fair, this should have been a major red flag to most investors entering the fray. For one man or company to offer any sort of guarantee in crypto is impossible. As we’ve all seen in the past – and especially 2022, arguably the worst year for crypto on record – the volatility of the space is truly astounding. Prices can go up or down at a moment’s notice, and it’s very hard to predict where and how coins will move. For this reason, offering any sort of crypto-based trading guarantee cannot be done.
So Much Money Lost
In addition, the fact that all this was being promised through “secret” technology should have made a lot of investors question the validity of the situation at hand. In any case, those who stepped aboard were told that they would have their money doubled in roughly five months by investing and thus garner as much as five percent returns on their investments through what he called “Robo-Advisor Assisted accounts,” which were used to conduct trading. Whatever money investors earned could either be withdrawn or used to reinvest into the platform.
In truth, very little of the money placed in Alexandre’s hands was invested. Millions of dollars in losses were ultimately sustained, though this information was never disclosed to investors. It is alleged that nearly $15 million of the funds Alexandre received also wound up in his own, personal bank accounts.
