The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently sentenced the key individual behind the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme AirBit Club. Among them, attorney Scott Hughes was sentenced to 18 months in prison for laundering approximately $18 million in the proceeds of the AirBit Club fraud; Cecilia Milan, a senior promoter of AirBit Club, was sentenced to five years in prison; another Senior promoter Karina Serres was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

AirBit Club was founded in late 2015 and is promoted as a “multi-level marketing club” for the cryptocurrency industry. The defendants deceived investors into believing that AirBit Club guaranteed daily returns from crypto mining and trading. However, instead of funding the promoted crypto business, AirBit put $100 million of investor funds into the pockets of its founders and promoters. Although some users complained about withdrawal delays and hidden fees in early 2016, AirBit Club planned to maintain its fraudulent activity into 2020.