Australian BitConnect Promoter is Charged over a Failed Business

The former Australian national representative of BitConnect, John Louis Anthony Bigatton is charged for taking part in a crypto Ponzi scheme worth several billion dollars. The news was announced on Tuesday by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) according to which Bigatton is blamed for various counts of financial crimes and as a result, he faces six charges with penalties of between 2-10 years in prison.

As it’s said in the >report provided by the ASIC, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has finally determined after spending a big time and energy that the Australian promoter is guilty of working for BitConnect for a year since August 2017 and with the help of the commission they recommended charges against him. It’s important to note that it’s not the first time when John Bigatton deserved public attention. In fact, a month ago he was imposed a 7-year restriction by the ASIC to provide any type of financial services. But now as he’s charged for more serious fraud and other related crimes.

Reminder: what is BitConnect and why it is regarded as a Ponzi scheme

BitConnect was a popular online crypto platform that was operated by the BitConnect Leading Platform. It was a type of open-source cryptocurrency designed to provide various investment opportunities which were especially attractive for those who were trying to make their income more stable. The platform was first launched in 2016 and originally its main purpose was to promote Bitcoin investment and it quickly became a successful platform but despite its popularity among crypto users, BitConnect had been a subject of controversy.

Today BitConnect is regarded as a scam platform or a variation of a Ponzi scheme which means that now it has the reputation of being a fraudulent investing scam that gives earlier investors returns with money taken from later investors. It was finally declared in early 2018 when investors realized that BitConnect tried to deceive them and it was actually a Ponzi investment scheme that scammed investors out of $2.6 billion. Before this, the platform has been suspected by many investors in the crypto community of being a Ponzi scheme and as a result, the lending and exchange platform finally shut down after the denial of service attacks and regulatory scrutiny.

However, BitConnect has still used undergrounds because of the related advantages. People have been using this specific type of crypto in online gambling sites where they had the opportunity to gain benefits. This may be the reason why many gamblers all over the world still try to make cryptocurrency deposits on online casinos in BTC and the main reason for this is quick payments, high limits, and guaranteed user privacy.

What is the BitConnect promoter accused of?

It’s not only BitConnect-related charges but also ASIC officially announced other related accusations for Mr. Bigatton. Specifically, first of all, he is blamed for operating an unregistered investment scheme. He was additionally accused of providing unlicensed financial services on behalf of another person and besides, the commission blames him for making a false statement that affected market participation. The court will hear the case of the Australian BitConnect promoter on February 2, 2021.

Bigatton’s case now deserves a great deal of attention from the public but the first time when his work and private life became a subject of discussion was back in mid-2018 when his wife, Madeline Bigatton mysteriously disappeared three months later after the collapse of BitConnect. The case still remains unsolved as she has never been found and is presumed dead for now. Although Australians were worried about the fate of her two children and her disappearance deserved an outpouring of emotions, it also raised concerns about her husband’s connections to this suspicious cryptocurrency investment company.

Now finally the Australian Federal Police has charged her husband with five offences, as they believe that he knew the offering this service was a fraudulent activity but he still encouraged to invest in their life savings. The investigation about his involvement in the Ponzi scheme started in 2018 when the Federal Court of Australia froze his assets and restricted him to travel. Now authorities plan to reopen the case of his wife as well and finally find out every illegal activity he’s been involved in during recent years.

How this will affect crypto market participation?

Probably, the scandalous case of the Australian promoter may finally improve the situation of the crypto market and push people to take some safety measures before making transactions in cryptos without even searching for the information about who they are dealing with. This is why disclosure of this kind of case is pretty important to ensure that people take care of their safety. But as the popularity of cryptocurrencies grows rapidly, people start to believe that if others are gaining benefits, they will do so as well without taking into account that you have to pay attention to every single detail before starting to take part in this big industry full of scammers and fraudsters.

So, it’s vitally important to make sure that you invest safely because the crypto market is not regulated in many countries and if something happens to those investors, it may take longer to finally detect the identity of the fraudster, just like in Bigatton’s case. But now he is sentenced to be imprisoned after making misleading statements that had a great influence on market participation.

Image by Yahoo