Swedish Man Involved in Digital Currency Fraud Faces 40 Years Prison Time

Roger Nils-Jones Karlsson is the founder of Eastern Metal Securities and accused of defrauding over 3,500 investors through digital currencies.

How It All Went Down

• Karlsson pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering, wire fraud and securities fraud.
• Authorities say the man lured investors to invest in two of his firms in BTC, promising payments in gold.
• Karlsson reportedly would induce his targets to invest in the firm, promising them payouts in gold. He sold shares in his firm for less than $100, assuring them that they would receive 1.15 kilograms of gold as an eventual payout. At press time, this amount of gold was worth over $62,500.
• In the unlikely event that the gold payout didn’t happen, Karlsson promised his investors that he would pay them back 97% of the money they invested.
• Ultimately, Karlsson had no way of paying them back.
• Investors would be provided with various excuses why they were unable to receive their money, including: “releasing so much money all at once could cause a negative effect on financial systems throughout the world.”
• Karlsson is looking at up to 40 years behind bars.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com