In a recent incident, the founders of ACE, one of Taiwan’s largest cryptocurrency brokerages, were arrested for crypto fraud. David Pan and Lin Nan, along with their teams, are accused of deceiving over 100 investors out of more than 1 billion yuan over the past three years using deceptive practices, including fake advertisements on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.
ACE Exchange Crypto Fraud Scheme Revealed
According to recent news, Lin Nan, one of the exchange’s founders, used social media to attract potential investors and promised quick profits by listing cryptocurrencies on well-known exchanges. During this process, Pan Nan increased the credibility of the ACE exchange, thereby enhancing the reliability of the listed cryptocurrencies.
The fraudsters targeted the vulnerabilities of investors. They convinced investors that the listed cryptocurrencies could rise similarly to Bitcoin and claimed these cryptos had a promising future, exploiting gaps in knowledge to their advantage.
However, investors were left with worthless cryptocurrencies that rapidly lost value or had no circulation.
The New Taipei City Criminal Police quickly took action after the incident came to light. Raids were conducted in Taipei, New Taipei, and Taichung, resulting in the arrest of the criminals. Police arrested Lin, Pan, and 14 employees at 15 different locations, including the headquarters of the ACE exchange company.
Following the crackdown on fraud, 111.52 million yuan in cash was found in Lin’s home, and cryptocurrency equivalent to 108 million Taiwan dollars was seized after a raid on the company’s headquarters.
The total illegal gains amounted to over 200 million Taiwan dollars, valued at approximately 6.431.532 US dollars.
Global Crypto Exchanges Under Scrutiny
This incident occurred during a period of increased legal scrutiny over major cryptocurrency exchanges. CoinDCX, a large crypto investment firm, faced allegations recently.
The Delhi Police, who conducted the investigation, denied reports of bank and crypto fraud in their mobile app. Despite the denial, numerous complainants shared reports detailing irregularities and coercion during crypto withdrawal transactions.
Similarly, news from South Korea reported that Lee Jeong-hoon, the former chairman of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Bithumb, was charged with fraud and sentenced to eight years in prison.
The recent developments provide support to individuals and institutions advocating for comprehensive regulation of the crypto ecosystem. As the popularity of crypto assets increases, scammers are turning their attention to this area more rapidly.
