A six-count indictment was unsealed on Dec. 20 charging two men with perpetrating a scheme that defrauded investors of more than $22 million in cryptocurrency.
Gabriel Hay, 23, of Beverly Hills, and Gavin Mayo, 23, of Thousand Oaks, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud and one count of stalking. Authorities said Hay and Mayo defrauded investors through a series of digital asset project “rugpulls,” a type of fraud scheme in which the creator of a nonfungible token, or NFT, or other digital asset project solicits funds from investors and then abruptly abandons the project.
“Whenever a new investment trend occurs, scammers are sure to follow,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said. “My office and our law enforcement partners will continue our efforts to protect consumers and punish wrongdoers involved in crypto fraud.”…