A Houston man has been sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for running a cryptocurrency investment scheme, which prosecutors say defrauded nearly 1,000 people.
Singapore Summit: Meet the top APAC brokers you know (and those you don’t know yet!).
Robert Dunlap, 55, was convicted last year by a federal jury in the Northern District of Illinois on mail fraud charges, according to a Dallas Express report. He ran an investment program called “Meta-1 Coin Trust.”
Picasso’s counterfeit gold encryption scheme revealed
Between 2018 and 2023, Dunlap told investors that the digital asset was backed by large gold reserves and high-value artworks. He claimed that the support included up to $1 billion in artwork and $44 billion in gold. He also said the collection included works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Vincent van Gogh.
Prosecutors said these allegations were false. Dunlap also told investors that an accounting firm had audited the gold holdings, they said. Authorities said he created false legal documents to support the allegations and to hide his lack of assets. The scheme caused losses exceeding $20 million. Many investors lost their savings.
A Houston man was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for a $20 million cryptocurrency scamRead more: https://t.co/U9PdsS4RebRobert Dunlap, 55, was convicted of mail fraud for falsely claiming that his Meta-1 Coin Trust was backed by $1 billion in art and $44 billion in gold. pic.twitter.com/OgdSIxAztR
– Dallas Express News (DallasExpress) April 17, 2026
The IRS calls the case beyond financial loss
U.S. District Judge Lashonda A. Hunt Dunlap was ordered to pay restitution along with a prison sentence.
In a sentencing memorandum, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Huston and Paige Nutini said Dunlap misled investors over several years. “The defendant lied to investors for years, telling them he had created a safe investment for them,” they wrote. They also wrote that “over the years, the defendant was unrepentant, and his lies became greater.”
They added that future offenders should expect “serious consequences including loss of liberty for a long period of time.”
Adam Jobs, special agent for criminal investigations at the IRS, said the fraud extended beyond financial losses. The statement did not include more details about his statement.
This article was written by Tariq Sikdar at www.financemagnates.com.
Source link
