Five people were sentenced to prison for their roles in a $21.6 million crypto fraud in which they reportedly spent the stolen funds on a shark tank, private jet rides, sex workers and a luxury car.
The criminals raked in $21.6 million (20 million euros) from about 40,000 investors through multiple investment schemes, including the EXW Wallet and the EXW crypto token, Austrian news outlet Heute reported on Oct. 23.
Two of the defendants were sentenced to five years, two received 30 months and one got 18 months of prison time. Five others were acquitted, while some have continued to hide from authorities.
The fraud trial at the Klagenfurt Regional Court was the largest in Austrian history, Heute noted.
Judge Claudia Bandion-Ortner handed down the sentences on Oct. 23 after two months of trial and 300 hours of negotiations.
Heute said the fraudsters lived like they were in a “Hollywood film” — partying in some of Dubai’s “poshest” clubs and traveling between cities in private jets.
They even bought a shark tank in a villa, which news and review site BehindMLM reported was located in Bali.
Sydney-listed home shows what a lavish shark tank looks like inside a residence. Source: realestate.com.au
More than $100,000 was spent on sex workers, also, BehindMLM said in a July 12 article.
There was “no shortage of money,” Heute said.
The operation was based in Dubai, but some of the stolen cash was transported to Austria (where many of the fraudsters are from) in plastic bags, Heute said.
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Austrian prosecutors indicted eight people involved in the EXW scam in September 2023, and more were charged in the following months.
No extradition agreement exists between Austria and the United Arab Emirates, which made it tough for the prosecutors, Heute said, noting that some defendants voluntarily handed themselves in while others fled.
One of the founders of EXW Wallet, Benjamin Herzog, pled guilty last December, BehindMLM reported.
Some of those convicted in the Oct. 23 verdict plan to appeal their convictions.
EXW Wallet launched in late 2019, promising EXW tokens a 0.1% to 0.32% daily return on investment. The fraud scheme collapsed several months later in 2020.
The fraudsters also promoted real-estate projects, and some of the defendants are being investigated for a cannabis-related fraud case where $17.2 million (16 million euros) is said to have been stolen from 17,000 victims.
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