5.7 million euros in damages

Alleged crypto fraudsters on trial in Linz

Three men will stand trial in Linz from April 24 for allegedly defrauding several hundred victims of a total of around 5.7 million euros with a cryptocurrency scam. The Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) is accusing them of serious fraud, criminal association and money laundering. 

Specifically, the accused, aged 29, 38 and 40, allegedly pretended to have introduced a new cryptocurrency and raised money for it between December 2017 and February 2018. However, according to the indictment, the alleged new cryptocurrency did not exist.

The defendants allegedly deceived their victims into believing that their investments in Bitcoin and Ether would flow into a business model for the further development of trading software that would enable more than 10,000 trades per second on the blockchain and promised a profit of ten percent per week.

Up to ten years in prison
A verdict is not expected on the first day of the trial. It is not yet possible to predict when the panel of lay judges will hand down a verdict. The penalty range is between one and ten years' imprisonment.

The WKStA is also investigating three other alleged participants - in one case for serious fraud and in two cases for money laundering.