Two men in the UK have been sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison after they confessed to operating a cryptocurrency scheme that defrauded over 1.5 million British pounds ($2 million) through cold-calling victims.
The Financial Conduct Authority announced on Friday that a court in central London issued the sentences to the scheme’s perpetrators, Raymondip Bedi and Patrick Mavanga, after they pleaded guilty to several charges in November.
Bedi received a sentence of five years and four months, while Mavanga was given six years and six months.
“Bedi and Mavanga attracted investors with claims of substantial profits from crypto investments, but their operation was nothing more than a ruthless fraud,” stated Steve Smart, the FCA’s joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, at the time of the pair’s conviction in November.
Cold Calling Cryptocurrency Fraud
The FCA reported in November that from February 2017 to June 2019, the duo belonged to a collective that cold-called individuals to direct them to a seemingly professional website promoting high returns for fraudulent crypto investments.
They succeeded in deceiving at least 65 investors, accumulating just over 1.54 million British pounds ($2.1 million) during that period.
The funds were transferred to companies they controlled — Astaria Group LLP, CCX Capital, and unauthorized clones of the firms Ian Buckley Financial Services and Capital Partners Group.
Two Individuals Were “Key Figures” In The fraudulent Scheme
During the sentencing on Friday, Judge Griffiths of Southwark Crown Court noted that Bedi and Mavanga “played significant roles in a conspiracy that duped victims into investing in cryptocurrency consultancy.”
He allegedly told the defendants, “You colluded to completely circumvent the regulatory framework.”
The FCA’s Smart stated that the duo “mercilessly deceived numerous unsuspecting victims, and it is appropriate that they have received these prison sentences.”
Bedi and Mavanga Admitted Guilt
The two individuals were initially charged in April 2023. The FCA reported in November of the previous year that Bedi confessed to conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to violate the UK’s financial services regulations.
Mavanga also admitted guilt to conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to violate finance laws and acknowledged possessing counterfeit identification documents with dishonest intent.
He was additionally found guilty by a jury of obstructing justice for deleting call recordings after Bedi’s arrest in March 2019.
A jury did not reach a decision regarding a third unnamed defendant, who is scheduled for a retrial in September, while Rowena Bedi, a fourth individual charged in relation to the scheme, was found not guilty of one count of money laundering, according to the FCA.
