US Government Arrests and Charges Alleged ICO Fraudster

A New York businessman accused of defrauding investors in connection with two initial coin offerings (ICOs) last month by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been arrested.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York said that Maksim Zaslavskiy had been arrested Nov. 1 and charged with securities fraud conspiracy tied to two token sales, one of which was marketed as being backed by real estate assets, and the other by diamonds. A complaint, originally filed on Oct. 27, was also unsealed.

The developments come more than a month after the SEC unveiled charges against Zaslavskiy and two related companies. The U.S. securities regulator then alleged that Zaslavskiy misrepresented the amount raised during the two ICOs, and at the time obtained a court order freezing the assets of of Zaslavskiy and the two companies.

Prosecutors have further alleged that the purported assets backing the tokens did not actually exist.

"As alleged, Zaslavskiy and his associates enticed investors by promising returns using novel ICOs even though Zaslavskiy knew that no real estate or diamonds were actually backing the investments," Acting United States Attorney Bridget Rohde said in a statement.

The full complaint can be found below:

Zaslavskiy Complaint 0 by CoinDesk on Scribd