The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Thursday detailed the arrest of 10 suspects after more than 100 people were scammed out of NT$200 million (US$6.4 million) in a tether cryptocurrency fraud case in Taipei and New Taipei City.
The bureau said in a statement that it was first alerted to the case earlier this year when reports indicated that a physical crypto shop in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) was being used to launder money.
The fraud ring was allegedly led by a 27-year-old man surnamed Sun (孫), who set up the first fake crypto shop in March and instructed ring members to lure people by encouraging them to join an investment chat group that offered courses on daily stock market movements and analyses, the bureau said.
Photo: Bloomberg
The group even sent participants gift certificates and birthday cakes to gain their trust, the bureau added.
Pretending to be stock market “tutors,” the scammers encouraged victims to purchase cryptocurrency stablecoin tether at designated shops, where staff asked them to sign a liability disclaimer in an attempt to avoid legal responsibility.
The “investors” were unaware they were being defrauded until they discovered the cryptoexchange was fake and were unable to log into their supposed cryptowallet, police said.
Police found that the group was operating three physical crypto shops — in Taipei’s Wanhua (萬華) and Neihu (內湖) districts and New Taipei City’s Lujhou District (蘆州),
More than 100 victims have been identified, with total losses estimated at more than NT$200 million. One retired man lost about NT$40 million over a five-month period, police said.
Most victims thought the crypto-shops were trustworthy because they were brick-and-mortar, when in fact they were being used as cover for illegal activity.
Multiple locations connected to the fraud scheme in Taipei and New Taipei City were raided on Oct. 18 and Nov. 20 respectively, with 10 suspects arrested, including Sun.
The police also seized thousands of top-up cards, NT$29,000 in cash, 15 bags of ketamine (weighing 70g), machetes and baseball bats found in the premises.
The suspects tried to destroy evidence by throwing phones and laptops out of the buildings during the raids, the bureau said.
After being questioned by police, the 10 suspects were handed over to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on suspicion of fraud, money laundering and organized crime. They were released on bail of NT$50,000 to NT$300,000, police said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
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