Bitget offers one-stop trading for cryptocurrencies, stocks, and gold. Trade now!
Federal prosecutors have secured a 23-year prison sentence against Robert Dunlap in a crypto scam tied to Meta-1 Coin. The United States Department of Justice said the fraud caused more than $20 million in losses and affected nearly 1,000 investors.
Court records said Dunlap, a 55-year-old from Houston, ran the scheme from 2018 to 2023. During that period, he promoted Meta-1 Coin as a legitimate digital asset. Prosecutors said the project was built on false claims and fake support.
At the center of the case was an entity called the Meta-1 Coin Trust. Through that platform, Dunlap told investors they were buying into a real crypto business. Authorities said the operation had no genuine asset backing.
Investigators said Dunlap claimed the coin was supported by up to $1 billion in fine art. He also said about $44 billion in gold stood behind the project. Prosecutors told the court those statements were false.
Another part of the sales pitch involved supposed outside verification. Dunlap said an accounting firm had audited the gold holdings and confirmed their value. According to prosecutors, no such proof existed.
Authorities also...
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s years-long campaign to undermine faith in U.S. elections has gained broad traction with the American public, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows, p...