The South African Mirror Trading International (referred to as MTI) cryptocurrency scam was the largest investment scam globally in 2020 and is one of the largest Ponzi schemes in South Africa's history, involving a scale far exceeding the initially mentioned $589 million.
In 2019, Johann Steinberg founded MTI in South Africa, falsely claiming to possess an artificial intelligence trading robot capable of conducting Bitcoin forex trading through high-frequency algorithms. The platform claimed that investors could participate with a minimum deposit of $100 worth of Bitcoin and promised a daily return rate of 0.5% (equating to an annual return of 500%), while also employing a multi-level marketing model with referral rewards, attracting around 260,000 investors from 140 countries during the pandemic in 2020.
In September 2020, a hacker organization and investigative journalists exposed vulnerabilities in the MTI website, revealing fraudulent trading data. In December of the same year, CEO Johann Steinberg went missing after absconding to Brazil with funds, leading to MTI's cessation of payouts and collapse; the platform was temporarily liquidated that month, and a final liquidation order was issued by the court in June 2021. Subsequent investigations confirmed that the so-called AI trading system did not exist, with only a small amount of funds being invested and all of it incurring losses; the platform essentially relied on the funds of new investors to pay “returns” to old investors.
Upon verification, approximately 29,000 - 46,000 Bitcoins flowed through this scam. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ruled that it must compensate victims $1.7 billion and imposed an additional $1.7 billion fine, the highest civil penalty in CFTC history. The liquidation agency recovered 1,281 Bitcoins from affiliated brokers, which were liquidated to provide refunds to victims. Johann Steinberg was arrested in Brazil in December 2021 for forging identification documents and passed away due to a heart condition triggered by a pulmonary embolism while under house arrest awaiting extradition in April 2024. The follow-up recovery work related to the case is continuously being pursued by the liquidation agency.
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Centra Tech is a high-profile fraudulent ICO scam in the cryptocurrency space that shocked the industry from 2017 to 2018, deceiving investors out of $25 million to $33.8 million through celebrity endorsements and a complete fake facade.
The scam was orchestrated by Ray Trapani, Sohrab Sharma, and Robert Farkas. They fabricated a CEO named "Michael Edwards," claiming he had twenty years of banking experience and held an MBA from Harvard, with a photo that was actually of Trapani's grandfather; they falsely claimed that the company had partnerships with giants like Visa and MasterCard, enabling the launch of debit cards for cryptocurrency that could be used for offline purchases, even forging licenses for fund transfers and other qualifications, while copying other companies' websites to create a professional image to gain investors' trust.
The project team spent heavily to enlist celebrities, with former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather declaring to his 8 million fans that he had invested in the project, and music producer DJ Khaled also participating in the promotion. The endorsements from these celebrities significantly increased the project's credibility, and in the fervent atmosphere of the 2017 cryptocurrency market, its ICO (Initial Coin Offering) quickly raised substantial funds, while the project team never disclosed that they paid the celebrities for promotion.
As the media questioned the authenticity of the executives' identities, and investors saw no actual products, the scam gradually collapsed. After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission intervened and launched an investigation, it was found that the project had no real partnerships or products. Founder Robert Farkas was arrested while preparing to board a flight to leave the country, and the remaining masterminds were also captured one after another. Ultimately, Trapani was sentenced to 8 years in prison and ordered to pay over $2.6 million in restitution, Sharma was required to pay $37.7 million, and Farkas also pleaded guilty and went to prison. The involved celebrity endorsers also paid settlements for illegal promotions.
This case became one of the early significant fraud prosecutions in the cryptocurrency field, pushing regulatory agencies to strengthen their scrutiny of ICOs. In 2024, the scam was turned into a documentary titled "Bitconned" by Netflix, where mastermind Trapani candidly recounted his involvement in the fraud, becoming a cautionary tale for investors.
On the eve of the Federal Reserve meeting, the market is cautious. This morning, U.S. stocks opened flat, with the Dow down 0.1%, the S&P 500 unchanged, and the Nasdaq up slightly by 0.2%. Investors are waiting for the Federal Reserve to announce its interest rate decision at 2 PM, with the market generally expecting a 25 basis point rate cut, though Powell's speech may turn hawkish, emphasizing inflationary pressures. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose to 4.19%, reflecting weak demand in the bond auction. Bitcoin rebounds over 10% The cryptocurrency market is recovering, with Bitcoin's price rebounding from $86,000 to over $93,000, an increase of more than 10%. Analysts say that expectations of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve boost liquidity, supporting risk assets until 2026. As a result, related stocks like BitFuFu (FUFU) rose 3.8% in early trading. Wall Street employment data bolsters rate cut expectations The latest Challenger report shows that U.S. companies announced layoffs of 1,170,000 in November, a year-on-year increase of 54%. Weak ADP employment data further raised the probability of a rate cut in December to 90%. Morgan Stanley reversed its forecast, confirming a 25 basis point rate cut, stating that it previously overestimated economic resilience. Stock dynamics Oracle (ORCL) shares fell 2% after its earnings report due to concerns about data center demand. Costco (COST) is expected to announce its earnings tonight, with analysts optimistic about its consumer resilience. The small-cap Russell 2000 index rose 0.8% for the week, benefiting from rate cut expectations. Overall, financial market liquidity is ample, but geopolitical risks and inflation uncertainty remain. Investors should pay attention to signals from the Federal Reserve.