BitConnect scammer John Bigatton avoids prison
Australian BitConnect scammer John Bigatton has avoided prison.
Following a guilty plea in May, Bigatton faced up to forty-seven years in prison.
On July 15th, Bigatton was convicted but “released on a recognisance to be of good behaviour for three years.”
Speaking on Bigatton avoiding prison, ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said
ASIC is committed to taking action against the unlawful promotion of high-risk digital assets to protect Australian investors.
This matter sends a clear message to Australians – that ASIC has and will act when unlicensed operators try to take advantage of Australian investors.
In addition to avoiding prison, ASIC banned Bigatton from providing financial services for seven years back in 2020.
The Australian Federal Police have also frozen millions in Bigatton’s assets. What will happen to the assets hinges on pending Supreme Court proceedings.
BitConnect was a ~$2.4 billion Ponzi scheme that collapsed in 2018. As the Australian Director of the scam, Bigatton pocketed billions in stolen BitConnect investor funds.
Following BitConnect’s collapse, Bigatton’s wife Madeline (right) disappeared. She is believed to have either absconded with stolen funds or committed suicide.
BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani is wanted by both US and Indian authorities. Kumbhani is believed to be hiding in Dubai.
Civil proceedings initiated against top BitConnect promoters in the US are believed to be on hold pending Kumbhani’s arrest.
Awesome, he could have gotten up to 47 years and he gets a slap of the wrist after stealing billions.
And that idiot from ASIC says that this sends a clear message to the Australian people. It does, the message is “if you create a Ponzi scheme and you defraud a lot of people, good for you, you are smart and you will get away with it”.
Yeah I don’t understand that quote either. I was going to rip into ASIC but, stupid as that quote is given the non-sentence, ASIC didn’t actually handle the criminal side of the case.
Prosecutors dropped the ball on this one (or didn’t care).
This is a darn shame. Was it worth it John? Your wife lost her life because of you.