Joseph Frank Abel, one of the co-conspirators in the BitClub Network cryptocurrency mining scam, admitted his involvement in defrauding investors and violating tax laws.
According to the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito, Abel pleaded guilty to conspiracy to offer and sell unregistered securities in BitClub Network that defrauded at least $722 million from investors
Abel also pleaded guilty to a separate information charging him with “knowingly and willfully making and subscribing to a false tax return for tax year 2017. He failed to report approximately $1,097,179.65 in taxable income. Thus, he owes approximately $476,213.00 in additional federal income taxes to the United States.
In December 2019, a grand jury indicted Abel together with BitClub Network creators and operators, Russ Medline, Matthew Brent Goettsche, Silviu Catalin Balaci and promoter, Jobadiah Sinclair.
Abel promoted BitClub Network despite knowing that it was a scam
In the indictment, prosecutors alleged that BitClub Network was cryptocurrency mining scam or a high-tech Ponzi scheme. The defendants and co-conspirators allegedly solicited money from investors in exchange for shares of purported cryptocurrency mining pools and rewarded them for recruiting new investors into the scheme, which they operated from April 2014 to December 2019.
