Alleged crypto Ponzi Scheme runs with $3B of scammed money: Report

Numerous financial experts have already declared that cryptocurrency is here to stay but the industry is still subject to numerous scams. In the case of South Korean crypto firm PlusToken, for example, it is currently being accused of pulling off an exit scam by running away with $3 billion worth of consumers’ money. It’s worth noting that the whole setup was suspicious to begin with since it promised high returns of investment with no basis whatsoever.

The news regarding PlusToken’s hasty exit began when traders started having difficulty withdrawing funds on June 27, FinanceMagnates reports. Soon after the troubles began, withdrawal was halted entirely, with the firm blaming supposed technical difficulties for the issue. Users now fear that the folks behind the wallet might have already made off with the money.

As for the team behind this firm, the official website mentions "Mr Leo" as the co-founder, but does not provide any further details or link to his LinkedIn profile. Citing a report from Chinese tech website 3KR, BehindMLM reported the arrest of six PlusToken scammers. Of those arrested, Chen Bo is said to have been the prominent one.

At last count, PlusToken had three million users as of May 30 this year. Just this month, it actually announced that it expected that number to be even higher at 10 million by the end of 2019. A lot of this would have been due to the lofty promises that the firm made to consumers, including absurd returns for their investments.

For example, users were basically guaranteed to get anywhere between 6 to 18 percent in returns per month when using its services, FXStreet reports.

News of this development has already started to spread on social media. Many users have shared their own stories, with several revealing to have lost as much as $5,000.

The official website and the firm's Twitter account remain operational at the time of writing.