The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has brought charges against three people for defrauding investors of nearly $2 billion.

According to the DOJ, the individuals promoted a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment program that promised investors high returns.

A $1.89 Billion Crypto Scam

In a press release on Jan. 29, 2024, the DOJ said that Sam Lee, an Australian living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and American citizens Rodney Burton and Brenda Chunga, perpetrated the $1.89 billion crypto fraud with an investment scheme called HyperFund.

While Lee is said to be the co-founder of HyperFund, Burton and Chunga were promoters of the project, which also had other names such as HyperCapital, HyperNation, HyperVerse, and HyperTech.

Between June 2020 and November 2022, Lee and his promoters allegedly claimed that investors would get 0.5% to 1% daily in passive rewards if the investors bought HyperFund membership packages while promising to double or triple their initial investment.

The trio further claimed that part of the payments would come from revenue gotten from HyperFund’s “large-scale crypto mining operations.” However, according to the DOJ, such operations did not exist.

In July 2021, the company seemed not to keep up with its promises and instead reportedly started blocking investors from making withdrawals.

According to a statement by the United States Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland:

“The level of alleged fraud here is staggering. Whether it’s cryptocurrency fraud or any other financial fraud, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This office and our law enforcement partners will hold perpetrators accountable for these and other fraud schemes.”

While Lee and Chunga are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud wire fraud, Burton is charged with operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Although Chunga pleaded guilty to her charges, the three individuals each face a maximum prison sentence of five years if convicted.

A Fake CEO