A New Zealand lawyer has called suspected pyramid scheme We Grow Bitcoins a “simple scam” after a news investigation.In an article by local platform Newshub, consumer law specialist Prajna Moodley concluded that investors funneling money into the scheme, which promises 62 BTC ($148,300) monthly returns, would never see their cash again.“I would go as so far as to say it's a simple scam, from what I can work this involves people investing money and never hearing from the company again," she told the publication.The investigation focuses on the story of a New Zealand investor by the name of Daniel Tepania, who sent the so-called “crowdfunding community” the required NZ$30 minimum entry fee and is awaiting payouts."It's only been here about a month so I thought I would give it a go, sounded quite good," he told Newshub.New Zealand’s Commerce Commission pointed journalists to its legislation on pyramid schemes when approached about We Grow Bitcoins, such schemes being illegal under local law.

“WeGrowBitcoins is a member to member donation platform,” the website states.“Members pay a monthly subscription to have access to the platform.Platform access allows members to receive donations directly into their bitcoin wallet from other members.” Cointelegraph would like to remind readers that investing in projects purporting to deliver unproven profits in return for direct payment should be avoided.wall street journal bitcoin chinaUsername * First Name Last Name Email * Password * Repeat Password * You registration completed successfully.ethereum historical price dataConfirmation email sent to email address provided.forex bitcoin withdraw

Email * Password *Attorneys » Southern District of New York » News » Press Releases Justice News Share Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Digg Reddit StumbleUpon Pinterest Email Texas Man Sentenced For Operating Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme USAO - New York, SouthernAs a group of 15 consortium members from seven European countries initiates a project to curtail criminals and attackers from using Blockchain technology, the head of Aidos coin (ADK) believes the law enforcement initiative would only target dark market operators.bitcoin cayHowever, in targeting illegal market operators, the initiative would not be able to stop cryptocurrencies being used across the market.gold gegen bitcoinSome of the consortium members are AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Coblue Cybersecurity (Netherlands), Countercraft S.L.ethereum chain data

(Spain), Universität Innsbruck (Austria), INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), the National Bureau of Investigation (Finland), University College London (UK) and VICOMTECH-IK4 (Spain).“Since coins are not registered or regulated, they are decentralized.Law enforcement can never shut them down,” says Ricardo Badoer, an entrepreneur in the finance and construction sectors.bitcoin bear whaleHe believes the crypto world has been turning into a Ponzi scheme - especially in the last two years - where coin developers release half finished coins just to make fast money.dogecoin logoDark web and virtual currencies The European researchers behind the three-year €5 mln project seek to develop technical solutions for investigating and mitigating crime and terrorism involving virtual currencies and transactions in the dark web - the part of the Internet that is beyond the reach of Google and other search engines.bitcoin woo

While there are many digital currencies in existence, they identify Bitcoin as the best-known application of Blockchain technology.They plan to come up with a way to stop the use of the technology to avoid law detection by evading traditional investigative measures while respecting the privacy rights of those using it for legitimate purposes.Though linking digital currencies to the dark web isn’t new, the consortium’s move comes in the wake of the Bitcoin ransom made by WannaCry attackers, after freezing computers across 150 countries.Badoer thinks these currencies, including ADK, will continue to be used across the market, particularly as the creators lack control over their use.He says: “We can not control our tech from being used on dark web/dark markets.We are sure our tech will be used.For example, ETH, Monero, Bitcoin and Dash are used in dark markets.” He adds that he came up with the Tangle-based ADK because the crypto world lost a chance of bringing in more people and investors with the DAO and the ETH vs.

Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2013-132 Washington D.C., July 23, 2013— The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Texas man and his company with defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme involving Bitcoin, a virtual currency traded on online exchanges for conventional currencies like the U.S.dollar or used to purchase goods or services online.The SEC alleges that Trendon T. Shavers, who is the founder and operator of Bitcoin Savings and Trust (BTCST), offered and sold Bitcoin-denominated investments through the Internet using the monikers “Pirate” and “pirateat40.”  Shavers raised at least 700,000 Bitcoin in BTCST investments, which amounted to more than $4.5 million based on the average price of Bitcoin in 2011 and 2012 when the investments were offered and sold.Today the value of 700,000 Bitcoin exceeds $60 million.The SEC alleges that Shavers promised investors up to 7 percent weekly interest based on BTCST’s Bitcoin market arbitrage activity, which supposedly included selling to individuals who wished to buy Bitcoin “off the radar” in quick fashion or large quantities.

In reality, BTCST was a sham and a Ponzi scheme in which Shavers used Bitcoin from new investors to make purported interest payments and cover investor withdrawals on outstanding BTCST investments.Shavers also diverted investors’ Bitcoin for day trading in his account on a Bitcoin currency exchange, and exchanged investors’ Bitcoin for U.S.dollars to pay his personal expenses.The SEC issued an investor alert today warning investors about the dangers of potential investment scams involving virtual currencies promoted through the Internet.“Fraudsters are not beyond the reach of the SEC just because they use Bitcoin or another virtual currency to mislead investors and violate the federal securities laws,” said Andrew M. Calamari, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office.“Shavers preyed on investors in an online forum by claiming his investments carried no risk and huge profits for them while his true intentions were rooted in nothing more than personal greed.” According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S.

District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Shavers sold BTCST investments over the Internet to investors in such states as Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.Shavers posted general solicitations on a website dedicated to Bitcoin discussions, and he misled investors with such false assurances about his investment opportunity as “It’s growing, it’s growing!”and “I have yet to come close to taking a loss on any deal,” and “risk is almost 0.”  Contrary to the representations made to investors, BTCST was not in the business of buying and selling Bitcoin at all.The SEC alleges that Shavers, who lives in McKinney, Texas, paid 507,148 Bitcoin in investor withdrawals and purported interest payments.He transferred at least 150,649 Bitcoin to his personal account at an online Bitcoin currency exchange.Shavers suffered a net loss from his day trading, but realized net proceeds of $164,758 from his sales of 86,202 Bitcoin.

Shavers transferred $147,102 from his personal account at the online Bitcoin currency exchange to accounts he controlled at an online payment processor as well as his personal checking account.He used this money to pay his rent, utilities, and car-related expenses as well as for food and retail purchases and gambling.The SEC’s complaint charges Shavers and BTCST with offering and selling investments in violation of the anti-fraud and registration provisions of the securities laws, specifically Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5.The SEC is seeking a court order to freeze the assets of Shavers and BTCST in addition to other relief, including permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and financial penalties.The SEC’s investor alert, prepared by the agency’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, recommends that investors be wary of so-called investment opportunities that promise high rates of return with little or no risk, especially when dealing with unregistered, Internet-based investments sold by unlicensed promoters.