UK Court Slams Two Crypto Scammers with Justice Over $2M Fraud

Crypto's dark underbelly strikes again—this time with a British twist.

Two men just learned the hard way that blockchain trails don't lie. The UK justice system dropped the hammer on a duo who thought $2 million in digital loot could vanish into the ether. Spoiler: It didn't.

When 'get-rich-quick' meets KYC

Their scheme collapsed faster than a shitcoin after a celebrity tweet. Authorities traced the funds through immutable ledgers—because apparently 'anonymous' cryptocurrencies aren't so anonymous when you cash out to buy a Lambo.

The irony? These scammers probably would've gotten away with it if they'd just stayed in traditional finance—where $2 million disappears daily before lunch.

The FCA is Punishing Crypto Scams

Crypto crime is currently at an epidemic level, but not everything in the news today relates to a recent incident. According to the FCA’s press release, Bedi and Mavanga’s crypto scams took place between February 2017 and June 2019.

In fact, both men pleaded guilty to fraud charges in 2023, but the final criminal proceedings only wrapped up today:

“Bedi and Mavanga were both leading players in a conspiracy whereby the victims of the fraud were persuaded to invest in crypto currency consultancy, and conspired to drive a coach and horses through the regulatory system,” Judge Griffiths wrote during the sentencing.

So, what was the nature of this string of crypto scams? Over the course of two years, these men sold fake tokens to at least 65 victims, netting over $2 million.

The FCA, a key British fiscal regulator, imposes particularly harsh penalties on false crypto advertising. This helps explain why it steered the prosecution.

At first glance, it seems a little odd that the sentencing process took so long. However, the FCA has been on a recent string of resolving outstanding crypto scam cases, some of which date back as far as 2016.

In the last month, the Authority has wrapped up cases against 11 other scammers. Several of the plaintiffs had also entered guilty pleas.

Both these men pleaded guilty to fraud in 2023, but Mavanga was convicted of an additional offense the following year. Specifically, he deleted phone call recordings with Bedi that presumably discussed the crypto scams.

For this, he received an extra year and two months on his sentence, a total of six years and six months.

It’s unclear if the FCA has other ongoing crypto fraud cases to finish. The FCA is still looking for victims of these crypto scams, pledging that “there is a cost to committing crime, and we will seek to make [Bedi and Mavanga] pay.”

The Authority has recently been trying to spearhead reforms to crypto policy, but its track record of overzealous persecution still negatively impacts its reputation in the industry. If nothing else, it remains committed to preventing fraud and punishing criminals.