By Solomon Odunayo
As per recent reports from Chinese media, a new cryptocurrency scam in the semblance of the notorious PlusToken has recently been brought to trial.
The Chinese scam platform called WOTOKEN, allegedly accrued over $1 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies from scamming over 700,000 users.
As per the report, the trial of WOTOKEN started on 14th May 2020, in the People’s Court of Binhai County, Yancheng City, against 6 defendants arraigned for operating the scam project.
The court blamed them for organizing and managing multi-level marketing (MLM) activities, covered up false stories with misleading information, concealed income, and other crimes.
Over 1 Billion in Bitcoin (BTC) and Other Coins Dubiously Siphoned By WOTOKEN
According to the report, WOTOKEN operated from July 2018 to October 2019. It functioned as typical multi-level marketing (MLM).
The project garnered a total of 715,249 registered users within the period of its operation. Per the report, the sum of 46,000 BTC, over 2 million ETH, 292,000 LTC, 56,000 BCH, 684,000 EOS, and lots of other digital currencies were dubiously siphoned.
So, the money fraudulently raised from the unsuspecting members, using the scamming project equaled 7.769 billion Yuan, which is relatively $1.1 billion.
Another notable point regarding the situation is that some of the defendants have criminal records, which implies that their sentences would be different from others.
Howbeit, the complexity of the trial made the court decide to adjourn the case after 6 hours on 14th May and will continue in the following week.
Back in mid-March 2020, when the price of Bitcoin (BTC) plunged by over 50% in the market, the impact of PlusToken activity was attributed as one of the major causes of the huge crash.
However, it is not yet ascertained whether this recent incident will initiate a similar price trend, but such a devastating effect is not one of the wishes of the crypto community at the moment.