DOJ Charges Siblings With Alleged $124M Crypto Fraud “Ormeus Coin”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday charged John and Tina Barksdale, two Texas residents, for securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit both. The two siblings are accused of operating a crypto fraud known as “Ormeus Coin.” The Barksdales lied about Ormeus Coin obtaining a $250 million mining operation and collecting more than $5 million in revenue each month, according to the DOJ. The currency, on the other hand, has never reached that level of value per the release. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, said in a statement that John Barksdale ran a fraud to sell Ormeus Coin to investors around the globe through a web of lies that he spread through in-person roadshows, social media and even a jumbotron in Times Square. The allegations stem from a period beginning in June 2017 and culminating in January 2018, when Ormeus Coin’s market capitalization reached approximately $52 million. According to the SEC’s release, Barksdales dishonestly obtained more than $124 million through the alleged fraudulent Ormeus Coin cryptocurrency scheme. The Barksdales face a maximum term of 20 years in prison for each count of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit crypto fraud. Rise In Protocol Exploits And Crypto Fraud In 2022 Hacks, rug-pulls, and security breaches are all frequent in the digital assets world. According to decentralized finance security platform and bug bou...