The alleged fraudsters involved in the BitClub $722 million crypto fraud are looking to be released from the county jail over fears of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In December of 2019, the US Justice Department announced the indictment of three individuals. Matthew Brent Goettsche, 37, of Lafayette, Colorado, and Jobadiah Sinclair Weeks, 38, of Arvada, Colorado, were charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Goettsche, Weeks, and Joseph Frank Abel, 49, of Camarillo, California, were charged by indictment with conspiracy to offer and sell unregistered securities.
Goettsche was arrested in Colorado, Weeks in Florida, and Abel in California.
A fourth individual was arrested in Germany.
Now Goettsche and Weeks have filed separate motions to be released from jail, according to a report in Law360.
Goettsche’s attorney was quoted as saying it is only a matter of time before the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, New Jersey, has its very own COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the Department of Justice, from April 2014 through December 2019, the defendants operated BitClub Network, a scam that solicited money from investors in exchange for shares in crypto mining pools while rewarding investors for recruiting more individuals to get involved – a classic Ponzi fraud.
Goettsche was said to have discussed with his co-conspirators that their target audience would be “dumb” investors, referred to them as “sheep,” and said he was “building this whole model on the backs of idiots.”
Weeks and Abel allegedly created videos and traveled around the US and the world to promote BitClub Network. The BitClub Network was described as “the most transparent company in the history of the world that I’ve ever seen,” by its creators.
The wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000. The conspiracy to sell unregistered securities charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.