Shane Donovan Moore, Wire Fraud, Washington 2023

Seattle Man Indicted for Ponzi Scheme Involving Cryptocurrency Mining

A 36-year-old Seattle semi-pro rugby player has been arrested and charged with 9 counts of wire fraud for operating a Ponzi scheme involving cryptocurrency mining investments. Shane Donovan Moore, 36, operated Quantum Donovan LLC, a Washington company that Moore claimed was purchasing and operating cryptocurrency mining equipment.

However, the indictment alleges that the company never invested in such equipment and operated as a Ponzi scheme, with the investments from later investors being used to pay off earlier investors. Moore made his initial appearance on the indictment on Monday morning.

'Cryptocurrency investors can fall victim to all the same fraud tactics as any investor. Mr. Moore used a 'Ponzi scheme,' – a fraud that has been around for decades - and uses new investor money to pay off older investors until the scheme collapses,' said U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. 'So far investigators have identified 38 known victims but believe there could be many more. We urge any such investors to contact the FBI.'

According to the indictment, between January 2021 and October 2022, Moore allegedly made fraudulent promises to obtain investor money. Moore claimed both verbally and in writing that the invested money would be used to purchase computers for a cryptocurrency mining operation. He told investors they would receive 1% of their investment daily based on the work of the mining machines.

However, Moore never purchased the mining machines. He comingled the investor money with his personal accounts and used some of those funds to live a lavish lifestyle. Some of the funds were used to purchase cryptocurrency so that a portion of the funds could be sent to investors to lull them into believing the cryptocurrency mining operation existed.

Moore recruited investors in Utah, Oregon, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Washington. Many of the investors are people he knew from his rugby activities.

Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian Wynne. An analysis of accounts controlled by Moore show he purchased more than $820,000 in cryptocurrency from crypto.com during the course of the scheme. Other records show Moore transferring more than $1 million in cryptocurrencies from his Coinbase account to other Coinbase accounts.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/semi-pro-rugby-player-indicted-ponzi-scheme-involving-false-representations-about