federal prosecutor allegedly A Nevada man helped defraud 10,000 investors of more than $45 million Friday with his own crypto token by peddling a fake metaverse project that could one day be sold for trillions of dollars.
Bryan Lee, a 57-year-old Las Vegas resident, was named as successor indictment He was involved in an investment fraud scheme known as CoinDeal. Lee is charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and criminal currency transactions. Prosecutions in the broader case date back to last June.
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Federal prosecutors say Lee worked with three others to convince investors that CoinDeal was a legitimate business family working on a virtual reality product. Lee and his co-conspirators also said they were in talks with a potential “consortium of wealthy buyers,” according to the indictment.
CoinDeal’s promoters told investors the funds were needed to cover operating expenses until the deal was completed, with Lee and his co-conspirators promising handsome returns. In reality, the alleged fraudsters splurged on luxury cars and real estate, prosecutors said.
The superseding indictment alleges that the conspirators falsely advertised the names of the two billionaires as part of a potential takeover group. Billionaire-1 is described as the founder and executive chairman of an “online retail company” and Billionaire-2 is described as the founder and CEO of an “electric vehicle company.”
Although no names were attached to the indictment, the two descriptions fit the amazon Founders Jeff Bezos and tesla CEO Elon Musk (though he’s not actually the founder), two of the richest people in the world.
Prosecutors said Lee worked under the direction of Neil Chandran, who “claimed to be the owner of the conglomerate,” and with Michael Glaspie, a Florida native who helped collect investors’ money. Glaspie) work together.
Lee was not named at the SEC in January complain. But Chandran and Glaspie are accused, along with five others, of an unregistered offering and sale of securities in connection with the CoinDeal investment scheme.
Prosecutors also charged another unnamed co-conspirator, “Individual-1,” with allegedly raising funds and laundering money for Chandran. The SEC charged a Nevada man, Garry Davidson, who matched Individual-1’s description.
Chandran was arrested, charged In June 2022, Glaspie pleaded guilty to wire fraud in February.
In the SEC complaint, Chandran was described as a “convicted felon who is a repeat offender of securities law violations.” He and his backers “primarily targeted unsophisticated investors,” claiming his technology would be sold for “trillions of dollars” to phony billionaire-backed syndicates, the SEC said.
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