The Good Samaritan who was giving cryptocurrency investment advice was a scammer. For three weeks, videos of the scam have been booming on YouTube. “Crypto Gouv,” the channel that netizens came to for advice on investing in cryptocurrencies, is said to have had funds stolen from its community. The damage will amount to 4 million euros, according to an informed source.
Within a few months, the YouTuber, whose identity is not known, gathered 4,000 subscribers, with whom he communicates daily on Telegram or Discord. Confidence is established between Crypto Gouv and its aspiring investors around the advice provided. He offers them to meet in “pools”, groups to invest together and asks them to entrust their funds to him. The promised returns on investment are significant. In a very short time, the deception is connected. “Investors allocated hundreds of euros, others several tens of thousands of euros“France Inter was trusted by the lawyer of the plaintiffs, Maitre Jérémy Asta-Vola.
The video exposes the scam
Not without cynicism, Crypto Gouv announced on its regular chat channels on July 9 that it was disappearing along with the funds. “It’s like you entrusted money to a financial investment advisor, and he just walked away with your money.– explains Me Asta-Vola. In a recent YouTube tutorial, now defunct, he seemed to go into great detail about the underbelly of this scam. According to France Inter, the investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office in mid-July was entrusted to the gendarmes of the research department. About 40 people filed complaints, but up to 300 people are said to have been affected.
The fraudster faces five years in prison, as he himself recalls in his last video. With the market attracting more and more people, you need to watch out for cryptocurrency scams that are on the rise. “There is a mass audience interested in this practice. Inevitably, some malicious people see this as an opportunity– warns Jeremy Asta-Vola. A Discord server has been set up to help victims, and a lawyer has announced the formation of an association to “inform and assist victims” in their fraud efforts.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.