Four Russians are accused in the US of fraud for $ 340 million

The founders of Forsage, a decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency investment platform, are accused of $340 million fraud, according to the website. US Department of Justice.

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A federal grand jury has indicted the four founders of Forsage for their role in the global DeFi Ponzi scheme and pyramid scheme that raised about $340 million from victim investors.

According to court documents, Vladimir Okhotnikov, aka Lado, Elena Oblamskaya, aka Lola Ferrari, Mikhail Sergeyev, aka Mike Mooney, aka Gleb, aka Gleb Million, and Sergey Maslakov, all Russian citizens, touted Forsage as a decentralized matrix project. , based on network marketing and "smart contracts", which are self-executing contracts on the blockchain.

According to the indictment, the defendants aggressively promoted Forsage to the public via social media as a legitimate and lucrative business opportunity, but in reality, the defendants used Forsage as a pyramid scheme and investment scheme that raised approximately $340 million from victim investors worldwide.

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According to court documents, the defendants coded and deployed smart contracts that systematized their combined pyramid scheme on the Ethereum (ETH), Binance Smart Chain, and Tron blockchains. An analysis of the computer code behind Forsage smart contracts showed that, according to the Ponzi scheme, once a victim invested in Forsage by purchasing a “slot” in the Forsage smart contract, the smart contract would automatically redirect those funds to other Forsage companies. In this way, earlier investors were paid by the funds of later investors.

As the indictment further alleges, the defendants falsely advertised Forsage to the public as a legitimate, low-risk and profitable investment opportunity through the Forsage website and various social media platforms.

However, blockchain analytics confirmed that over 80% of Forsage investors received less back than they invested in the Forsage Ethereum program, with over 50% of investors never receiving a single payout.

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In addition, according to court documents, the defendants coded at least one of the Forsage accounts (known as the xGold smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain) in such a way that it fraudulently siphoned investor funds from the Forsage investment network into cryptocurrency accounts under the control of the founders.

"While advances in the virtual asset ecosystem are opening up new opportunities for investors, criminals are finding new ways to organize illegal schemes," said Luis Quesada, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigation Division.

Okhotnikov, Oblamskaya, Sergeev and Maslakov have been charged with conspiracy to commit electronic fraud. If found guilty, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

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