Four Russian nationals – Vladimir Okhotnikov, Olena Oblamska, Mikhail Sergeev and Sergey Maslakov – have been indicted in the U.S. for running a $340 million Ponzi scheme that was portrayed as a decentralized finance (DeFi) investing platform. The U.S. Justice Department has accused the four of promoting Forsage on social media as a legitimate system, when in fact it was a fraudulent scheme. The four are facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison for each count.
The US Department of Justice has charged two Ukrainian nationals with operating a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme known as Forsage. The scheme allegedly used smart contracts on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Tron to divert investors’ funds to earlier investors, in a manner consistent with a Ponzi scheme. This follows the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s August charges against 11 people associated with Forsage. The two Ukrainians are accused of defrauding investors of millions of dollars and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
