A man has been sentenced to three years in prison by the U.S. District Court for defrauding investors and stealing over $2 million through a cryptocurrency mining scam.
According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Chet J. Stojanovich, who also goes by Chester J. Stojanovich, operated Chet Mining Co LLC from 2019 until he was arrested in April of 2022.
Stojanovich allegedly promised clients special equipment for mining cryptocurrencies as well as hosting services for miners, but the U.S.
Department of Justice claims that he embezzled the funds without delivering the services promised.
Instead, he used the money for personal expenses and a lavish lifestyle. Stojanovich pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in November and has now been sentenced to prison for his crimes.
The prosecutor commented that this case shows that even in innovative areas like cryptocurrency, old methods of fraud are still being used, but law enforcement agencies are committed to stopping them.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice also announced that it would return $17 million to investors affected by the BitConnect cryptocurrency pyramid and is investigating the hack of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.