Founder of Crypto Firm Charged With $150 Million Fraud (1)

The German founder of USI Tech, a crypto mining company and digital-asset trading platform, was charged by federal prosecutors in New York with defrauding investors of about $150 million in an illegal multilevel marketing scheme.

Horst Jicha, 64, faces securities fraud, money laundering, wire fraud and other charges, authorities said Friday. After promising investors returns of as much as 140%, he shut down the USI online platform and transferred much of its Bitcoin and Ether assets to accounts he controlled, according to an indictment. He was arrested Dec. 23 while attempting to vacation in Miami, prosecutors said.

Jicha, who ...