U.S. prosecutors have accused Jeremy Jordan-Jones, the "founder" of the cryptocurrency startup Amalgam, of committing fraud, claiming he "operated a fake blockchain," defrauding investors of more than $1 million, and "living a lavish lifestyle with that money."
Prosecutors allege that he "falsely claimed to have established multi-million dollar partnerships with the Golden State Warriors, a Premier League team, and a restaurant group with over 500 locations," but "these partnerships do not exist." He also "lied about raising funds to launch a cryptocurrency token that fundamentally does not exist on exchanges."
The indictment states that he "squandered investors' funds on hotels and restaurants in Miami, car payments, and designer clothing." Jordan-Jones is charged with one count of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, one count of making false statements to financial institutions, and one count of aggravated identity theft, with a maximum penalty of 82 years in prison.