Related Federal Cases
- Donald Trump Found Liable for Financial Fraud, New York NY, 2024 · Pennsylvania
- Emily Thompson, Theft of Property, New York NY, 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Marc Henry Menard, Investment Fraud Scheme, New York, 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Ijaz Butt Sentenced to 63 Months for Credit Card Fraud, New York NY… · Pennsylvania
- Jared Mitchell, Securities Fraud, New York · Florida
JON BARRY THOMPSON, 49, of Easton, Pennsylvania, pleads guilty to commodities fraud in Manhattan federal court
Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JON BARRY THOMPSON, a/k/a “J. Barry Thompson,” the principal of a cryptocurrency escrow company, pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to commodities fraud. THOMPSON’s guilty plea results from his involvement in a scheme to defraud a company of over $3 million.
In June and July 2018, THOMPSON made false promises to the company to induce it to send THOMPSON’s company over $3 million for Bitcoin that THOMPSON never had and that the investing company never received. THOMPSON claimed in promotional materials that his cryptocurrency escrow company, Volantis Escrow Platform LLC, and the related company Volantis Market Making LCC (collectively “Volantis”), “minimize[d] settlement default risk” in cryptocurrency transactions.
THOMPSON falsely assured the company that THOMPSON would act as an escrow and that the company’s money could not be lost. In particular, THOMPSON told the company that the transaction would take place through an “atomic swap process” after THOMPSON had custody of both the Bitcoin and the company’s cash. THOMPSON falsely represented that he would not transfer the company’s cash to the seller until he had the Bitcoin in hand.
Based on these fraudulent representations, the company wired THOMPSON $3.25 million. THOMPSON then wired over $3 million of the company’s money to a third-party entity without first receiving any of the Bitcoin in hand. After taking the company’s money, THOMPSON lied for days about the status of the transaction and the location of the company’s Bitcoin and money, which was never returned.
THOMPSON was arrested on July 25, 2019, and pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos. THOMPSON faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison for his crimes. THOMPSON will be sentenced on January 7, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.
Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and also thanked the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for its assistance. This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jordan Estes and Drew Skinner are in charge of the prosecution.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
