Prosecutors described him as "unrepentant" in their sentencing memorandum, saying his deceptions compounded over time.
Crypto News
A Texas man has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for orchestrating a cryptocurrency fraud that raised $20 million from nearly 1,000 investors over five years. U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt delivered the sentence on Tuesday and ordered Robert Dunlap to pay restitution to victims, according to the Illinois U.S. Attorney's Office.
Dunlap served as a trustee of the Meta-1 Coin Trust and was convicted in November by a federal jury in the Northern District of Illinois on two counts of mail fraud, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years. Prosecutors described him as "unrepentant" in their sentencing memorandum, saying his deceptions compounded over time.
From 2018 to 2023, Dunlap and his co-conspirators marketed and sold Meta-1 Coin by telling investors the token was backed by a $44 billion gold reserve and a $1 billion art collection featuring works attributed to Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh. Neither backing existed. Investors were also told the coin was risk-free and capable of generating returns of up to 224,923%.
The coins were never distributed. Instead, funds were directed toward personal expenses and luxury purchases, including a Ferrari, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Dunlap and his associates also used automated trading bots to artificially inflate Meta-1 Coin's price and trading volume on the Meta Exchange, a platform Dunlap created himself.
In March 2020, the SEC obtained an asset freeze and emergency relief orders against Dunlap, alleged accomplice Nicole Bowdler, and former Washington state Senator David Schmidt to halt the marketing operation. The court action came three years before the scheme was fully dismantled.
Assistant U.S. attorneys Jared Hasten and Paige Nutini wrote in the sentencing memorandum that the 23-year term is intended to serve as a deterrent. "Would-be criminals planning to engage in similar conduct need to know that such actions will be met with a serious repercussion that includes loss of one's liberty for an extended period of time," they said.
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