A man under home confinement for his alleged involvement in a $180 million cryptocurrency fraud is now believed to be on the run after tampering with an anklet monitoring device, according to New York prosecutors.
Horst Jicha, former CEO of cryptocurrency mining and trading firm USI-Tech, is suspected of “tampering with an anklet” on Oct. 4 and “absconding in violation of pretrial conditions,” according to an Oct. 10 court filing.
Pretrial Services notified the government about 12 hours after Jicha's device stopped working, immediately requesting an arrest warrant for the fugitive.
Excerpt from a letter from the Department of Justice to the Honorable Orelia E. Merchant. Source: Courtlistener
Jicha, a German citizen, was arrested on December 23, 2023 in Miami, Florida, after entering the United States for the first time in more than five years, to vacation there.
He has not been in the US since he fled in 2018 after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from US authorities.
Jicha is under house arrest in New York on $5 million bail provided by his partner and children, CNBC reported Oct. 11.
“There is a very active investigation to arrest him,” John Marzulli, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, told CNBC.
The 64-year-old was also forced to surrender his German passport in December, making his escape abroad likely to be difficult.
Source: CNBC
His case is scheduled for trial on March 31, where he faces several charges of securities fraud and money laundering conspiracy related to his activities at USI-Tech.
TinTucBitcoin reached out to Jicha's lawyers but did not receive an immediate response.
Prosecutors allege that Jicha promised investors they would receive 1% daily returns for participating in USI-Tech's mining and trading scheme.
New York authorities allege that 1,774 Bitcoin (BTC) and 28,589 Ether (ETH) — worth more than $180 million at current prices — are missing from the USI-Tech fraud.
Prosecutors allege that the money was transferred to a deposit address of a cryptocurrency exchange controlled by Jicha.
USI-Tech was reportedly founded in Europe in May 2017 before being “aggressively pitched” to US investors a few months later.
After receiving scrutiny from US authorities, USI-Tech ceased operations on January 8, 2018, blaming investors for misleading statements about USI-Tech's products.
Investors left behind are unable to withdraw funds from USI-Tech's online portal.
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