For two years, a 23-year-old guy from the Dutch city of Hengelo managed a crypto bank, while simultaneously accepting investments from his family, close associates and local residents. According to reports, the minimum service fee was €5,000, while he took 50% of the profits as payment for his services. They say that the locals even dubbed it “cryptogeny.”
Last week he sent an email to his roughly 300 investors saying he was unfortunately no longer able to make payments because he had lost all of the funds he had invested, including his own money.
Dutch lawyers say affected individuals lost between €35,000 and €50,000 in cryptocurrency as a result of the scam, but one Cryptobank client said: “We suspect that between €4.50 and perhaps €10 was missing million."
The law student paid the earliest investors with money taken from new clients, in a classic pyramid scheme, according to attorneys representing victims.
A representative of the Dutch "Cryptogeny" apologized on his behalf, stating in an email that he was in a "completely mentally unstable state" and therefore sought medical help. He has reportedly deleted his social media accounts.
Last week he sent an email to his roughly 300 investors saying he was unfortunately no longer able to make payments because he had lost all of the funds he had invested, including his own money.
Dutch lawyers say affected individuals lost between €35,000 and €50,000 in cryptocurrency as a result of the scam, but one Cryptobank client said: “We suspect that between €4.50 and perhaps €10 was missing million."
The law student paid the earliest investors with money taken from new clients, in a classic pyramid scheme, according to attorneys representing victims.
A representative of the Dutch "Cryptogeny" apologized on his behalf, stating in an email that he was in a "completely mentally unstable state" and therefore sought medical help. He has reportedly deleted his social media accounts.
