• Forsage, a popular DeFi platform, came under the radar of a federal grand jury for running a Ponzi scheme worth over $340 million.
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the founders with fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering.
• The defendants falsely presented Forsage as a legal environment where investors can gain huge profits with low risk.
Forsage Accused Of Running Ponzi Scheme
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently accused the founders of Forsage, a popular decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, of running an illegal Ponzi scheme worth over $340 million. A federal grand jury in the District of Oregon has been investigating Forsage for several months and revealed this information in a recent post.
Charges Against Founders
The DOJ charged Olena Oblamska, Vladimir Okhotnikov, Sergey Maslakov, and Mikhail Sergeev with multiple counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. It is alleged that the platform was a “pyramid scheme” relying on recruiting new members to pay returns to early investors.
False Promises Used To Lure Investors
The defendants used false and misleading statements to lure investors into the scheme by presenting it as a legal environment where they can gain huge profits with low risk. They also used several social media platforms and its website to promote Forsage promising investors smooth operations.
Secret Codes Used To Collect Funds Illegally
To carry out their fraudulent activities undetected, the defendants developed secret codes in one of the platform’s accounts on Ethereum blockchain which fraudulently collected funds from the network and transferred them into digital currency accounts under their own control. This move was contrary to their initial agreement with investors regarding handling funds received from investing in Forsage network.
Most Investors Received Less Than Invested
Blockchain analytics claims more than 80% of Forsage investors received less Ether than they had invested while over 50% got nothing in return after their investments.