Beverly Hills men implicated in $22M crypto scam

Beverly Hills men Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo face charges for defrauding investors out of $22 million in a crypto scam.

There has been a Beverly Hills man and another accused for allegedly defrauding investors out of more than $22 million in digital currency. Gabriel Hay, 23, of Beverly Hills, and Gavin Mayo, 23, of Thousand Oaks, face multiple charges. Such charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, actual wire fraud and stalking charges. The indictment was not announced Friday, according to the US Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors allege that Hay and Mayo carried out several “rugpull” schemes involving organizers NFT other crypto projects or funds take investors' money and disappear. Recently scams like this have been common in the world of cryptocurrency. The two are said to have preyed on innocent investors from May 2021 to May 2024.

One of them was the “Vault of Gems NFT”. The defenders must be used to bring in investors. Many woke up to discover their dream, and millions were crushed by the project, just to get the money. According to the case, they have given false information to the investors so that the project looks legitimate.

Crypto Scam Case Reveals the Risks of Investing in NFTs

According to evidence, it was said that the defendants tried to hide their involvement in the activities. Others were identified so that the creators of the projects would not be caught in the act. However, the plan was exposed after one of the project managers betrayed them by revealing them as the real designers. As a result, the leadership of Hay and Mayo protested against the traitor. At the same time, they were again saying that they were targeting the person with harassment.

This was accompanied by threats from the project manager and members of his family. Some of the messages are said to have angered the victim, his brothers and other family members and caused them emotional trauma. This element was part of the stalking charge.

The defendants have legal leverage on this one. For both the conspiracy and wire fraud charges they could receive up to 20 years in prison for each count. In addition, the accused could receive up to five years for the stalking charge.

This case shows that the benefits associated with investing in cryptocurrencies are becoming more and more dangerous like the cases of NFTs and others. digital currencies. This has been the case as more investors are waking up to the adoption of digital currencies and new tokens. The US Attorney's office has pledged to pursue cryptocurrency-related fraud cases to ensure that investors and those involved in illegal business activities are held accountable.

Finally, this conviction is a message for investors. It shows the importance of doing due diligence when choosing suitable online investment projects in digital assets. The authorities have warned that legal proceedings will be taken against individuals who take advantage of naive investors.