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4 Arrested in Japan for Allegedly Cheating $54M From Thousands of Investors: Report
Investors say the men ran a crypto scheme known as the "Oz Project," which purported to automatically trade through the use of AI.
Four men were arrested by Japanese police for allegedly defrauding thousands of investors out of millions of dollars, according to a report by Asahi Shimbun Digital on Monday.
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Shoji Ishida, Yukihiro Yamashita, Takuya Hashiyada, and Masamichi Toshima stand accused of cheating 20,000 investors out of more than 6 billion yen (US$54.3 million) by promising to generate large returns through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on their crypto trading platform.
Investors, who are filing civil lawsuits, say the men ran a crypto scheme known as the "Oz Project" which purported to automatically trade on a user's behalf through the use of AI.
Read more: Japan’s CBDC to Get a Clearer Picture by 2022, Says Government Official: Report
The scheme promised two-and-a-half times a user's initial principle in return on their investment over a four-month period, per the report. A "solicitation officer" held seminars calling for further investment into the project.
Those who invested also invited friends and acquaintances, increasing the total pool of investors, Asahi reported.
Sebastian Sinclair
Sebastian Sinclair is the market and news reporter for CoinDesk operating in the South East Asia timezone. He has experience trading in the cryptocurrency markets, providing technical analysis and covering news developments affecting the movements on bitcoin and the industry as a whole. He currently holds no cryptocurrencies.
