Thodex Founder Faruk Fatih Ozer Found Dead in Prison Amid 11,196-Year Sentence
Faruk Fatih Ozer, the convicted founder of collapsed Turkish crypto exchange Thodex, was discovered dead in his prison cell at Tekirdağ F-Type High Security Prison. Authorities suspect suicide as the cause.
The disgraced CEO had been serving an unprecedented 11,196-year sentence since April 2021 for financial crimes including aggravated fraud, money laundering, and leading a criminal organization. His exchange's collapse left 400,000 investors nursing $2.6 billion in losses according to Chainalysis data.
This grim development closes a chapter on one of crypto's most spectacular fraud cases, serving as a cautionary tale about unregulated exchanges during the 2021 bull market frenzy. The incident underscores the industry's ongoing struggle with bad actors despite maturation of compliance frameworks.
