Tag Archives: scams

Ars Technica reports: Alex Mashinsky, the disgraced founder of the Celsius Network cryptocurrency bank who deceived hundreds of thousands into losing billions with the catchy slogan “unbank yourself”—was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday. In December, Mashinsky pleaded guilty to securities fraud and commodities fraud. Federal prosecutors slammed him for reaping $48 million in profits while causing billions …

CNBC reports: About 764,000 wallets that purchased President Donald Trump’s $TRUMP meme coin have lost money on the investment, according to fresh data shared with CNBC by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Chainalysis said that while around 2 million wallets have bought into the token, 58 wallets made more than $10 million apiece, totaling roughly $1.1 billion in gains. Interest in …

Raw Story reports: Investors made nearly $100 million by buying Melania Trump’s cryptocurrency token minutes before she announced the coins were for sale. The first lady publicized the $MELANIA coin in a Truth Social post on Jan. 19, hours before her husband was inaugurated for a second term as president, and two dozen digital wallets bought $2.6 million of the …

ABC News reports: Just hours after the state Supreme Court rejected Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul’s effort to block Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks on Sunday night, the billionaire took the stage at a town hall in Green Bay and gave away two $1 million checks to attendees in his latest effort to support conservative candidate Brad …

The Daily Beast reports: Billionaire Elon Musk just bought his own company. Musk, the owner of X, just bought X once again through his artificial intelligence company, xAI. The all-stock transaction was announced Friday as Musk claimed the combination valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion (his valuation for the social media company was actually $45 billion, …

Electric vehicles site Electrek reports: Tesla has been banned from upcoming federal EV rebate programs in Canada as the government freezes the suspicious $43 million in rebates that Tesla claimed days before the program was paused earlier this year. Earlier this month, it was reported that Tesla claimed $43 million in government rebates from the iZEV federal EV rebate program …

NBC News reports: The scam text message claims you are now eligible for a $5,000 federal government subsidy. It claims the money comes from funds saved by cuts made to the federal budget by the Department of Government Efficiency. It tells you to reply to the message with Y, close the message, open it back up, and then click the …

Ars Technica reports: Musk tweets branding Dogecoin as “the people’s crypto” and envisioning the token as someday becoming “the standard for the global financial system” actually created a segment of true believers among his followers who, to this day, fully expect Musk to be a kingmaker who will crown Dogecoin as the default “currency of Earth.” It possibly helps that …

The BBC reports: Argentine President Javier Milei is facing impeachment calls – and legal action accusing him of fraud – over his promotion of cryptocurrency on social media. Milei posted on X about the $LIBRA coin on Friday, which he said would help fund small businesses and start-ups. He shared a link to buy it, causing its price to shoot …

The Associated Press reports: Argentine lawyers filed fraud charges against President Javier Milei in criminal court on Sunday for promoting a cryptocurrency on his social media, one of the lawyers told The Associated Press. On Friday, Milei posted on X about $LIBRA, a coin that he said was aimed at “encouraging economic growth by funding small businesses and startups.” He …

ABC News reports: Steve Bannon, the confidante of President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty Tuesday to defrauding New Yorkers who donated to “We Build the Wall,” an online fundraiser for Trump’s signature project during his first term, in exchange for a sentence without prison time. “The parties have worked out a plea agreement. Mr. Bannon will plead guilty to count 5 …

Reuters reports: Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon plans to plead guilty in a deal with New York state prosecutors to resolve fraud charges connected to fundraising for a U.S. southern border wall and allow him to avoid any prison time, legal trade publication Law360 reported. The report cited a defense attorney for Bannon, John F. Carman. “It is anticipated …

The New York Times reports: The curious trade came a little past 9 p.m. on Jan. 17 — a $1,096,109 bet less than two minutes after the soon-to-be president of the United States posted on his social media account that his family had issued a cryptocurrency called $Trump. In those first minutes, a crypto wallet with a unique identification code …

Business Insider reports: Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, the parents of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), are reportedly pursuing a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, according to Bloomberg. SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024 after being convicted of multiple fraud charges. Despite their son’s massive fall from grace, his parents have met with individuals …

Ars Technica reports: Craig Wright, the man who claims he invented bitcoin and has been filing lawsuits asserting intellectual property rights, was sentenced to a year in prison yesterday for committing contempt of court. The sentence is suspended and can be enforced if Wright continues violating court rulings—but he may be able to avoid imprisonment by staying away from countries …

The New York Times reports: For the third year in a row, Elon Musk’s charitable foundation did not give away enough of its money. And it did not miss the mark by a small amount. New tax filings show that the Musk Foundation fell $421 million short of the amount it was required to give away in 2023. Now, Mr. …

The New York Times reports: If you owned a phone in America over the last 40 years, there is a good chance you got a call from Richard L. Zeitlin. He ran a telemarketing empire out of Las Vegas, using computers that mimicked human callers to raise money for charitable and political causes. Police and police dogs. Vietnam veterans and …

NBC News reports: Some major tech companies including Meta are taking steps to combat “pig butchering” scams, which trick Americans out of billions of dollars each year through fake online friendships and romances. Pig butchering scams are elaborate and often take months to unfold. Scammers will patiently strike up an online friendship or romantic relationship with a victim, eventually guiding …

The Washington Post reports: President-elect Donald Trump is preparing the U.S. government to adopt a more permissive stance toward cryptocurrency, eyeing a roster of industry-friendly candidates for key posts while his top advisers consult crypto executives on potential changes to federal policy. By pursuing a more lenient regulatory environment, Trump aims to fulfill his campaign promise to transform the United …

From the medical site STAT News: The health community is spinning with worry about the fate of science and evidence-based medicine if Trump makes good on his promise to let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “go wild” on the nation’s leading health agencies. We are particularly concerned that RFK highlighted nutraceuticals, a subtype of dietary supplement, and peptide hormones, a common …