Travis Ford, the co-founder and an associated trader of Wolf Capital, has agreed to the facts and charges of Wire fraud conspiracy in a case that saw them defraud investors of $9.4 million. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) made his plea public on January 10, with Ford’s job in the scam being to defraud about 2,800 investors with inflated returns.
Introducing himself as a “sophisticated investor”, Ford asserted that he could get a Daily return of 1-2 % or a total annual yield of 547 % in a year. He used its website and online presence, including the social media platforms of Wolf Capital, to source for investors from January to August, 2023. However, Ford did not utilize this money as he promised; instead, he embezzled the funds for his greedy personal gains and those of his friends.
🔔 Wolf Capital Co-Founder Pleads Guilty to $9.4M Fraud Offering 547% Returns !
Wolf Capital co-founder Travis Ford pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for defrauding 2,800 investors of $9.4 million in 2023. Ford falsely claimed he could deliver daily returns of 1-2%,… pic.twitter.com/Y6hmO6QPQy
— Altcoin Alerts (@Altcoin_Alerts) January 11, 2025
DOJ Highlights Ford’s Misuse of Investor Funds for Personal Enrichment
The DOJ points out that Ford “embezzled and siphoned investors’ monies for his and co-conspirators’ use at the expense of investors.” He also said the returns that he promised for any investment and business were not possible in the current world economy. Likely, Ford could get a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison for his guilty plea to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, but his sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
Their case falls under a larger sweep against fraudsters in the crypto marketplace. On 5 January, Vietnamese Police rounded up four suspects who are believed to have defrauded more than 200 investors in a crypto mining scam in the amount of almost 157,300 USD. Likewise, the police in Springfield, Massachusetts, has sounded alarm ficer warnings about the increase in scams associated with cryptocurrency ATMs.
The crypto industry states that it has been subject to major financial thefts in the form of fraud and hacks, with $1.49 billion said to have been stolen in 2024, down 17% on 2023. A report filed by a Blockchain security platform called Immunefi noted that hacking was a leading cause for $1.47 billion, a percentage of 98.1%, out of the 192 records of such losses. Criminals also raking from fraud, rug pulls and scams made a total of $28 million which is an increase of 72% year-on-year.
Security Measures Improve as Crypto Attacks Drop by 27.5% in 2024
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There is a reduction in the total losses; security measures become even tighter the attackers’ number drops by 27,5% and decreases from 320 in 2023 to 232 in 2024. But the large-scale breaches continued unabated. Self-sustained hacking in May led to the DMM Bitcoin exchange losing $305 million through private key theft, while India’s WazirX lost $235 million in July to hackers who targeted the firm’s Ethereum-based multi-sig wallet. Altogether, these losses made up 36%, of the total of losses for the year.
DeFi applications again became the primary victims of the attackers, with $1,281,166,256, or 51.4% of the total losses, while CeFi platforms were victims in the amount of $1,212,379,060 or 48.6%. Specifically, losses associated with CeFi grew by 77.5% from the same period last year, and amounted to $726 million. Ethereum and BSC were the most attacked; Ethereum alone had 104 attacks with 44% of the overall blockchains’ losses.
Acting and international authorities have also not relented on the need as they carry on investigating fraudulent schemes in the emerging new world of crypto.
Conclusion
Ford’s guilty plea shows that although fraudulent schemes in crypto boast of high returns most of the time, their concept is criminal. Since such crimes are on the rise, the authorities increase their efforts to prevent the occurrence of these crimes thus, investors are advised to be keen and careful in researching on such projects.
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FAQs
What was Travis Ford charged with?
Wire fraud conspiracy, defrauding investors of $9.4 million.
How did Ford mislead investors?
He promised unrealistically high returns and misused funds for personal gain.
What sentence could Ford face?
Up to five years in prison; sentencing is pending.
How much was lost in crypto scams in 2024?
$1.49 billion, with hacks causing 98.1% of losses.
Disclaimer
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