According to Austrian news outlet Heute, five people were sentenced to prison for their part in a $21.6 million crypto fraud that siphoned in more than 40,000 investors, who used the stolen cash to live the high life.
The EXW crypto token investment scheme defendants were sentenced to 18 months to five years. Two of the convicted individuals received five years, while two others received 30 months and one 18 months. Some remain at large, and five of the additional defendants were acquitted.
The trial, dubbed the most significant fraud case in Austrian history, was presided over by Judge Claudia Bandion-Ortner. Sentences occurred about two months later, on Oct. 23, following proceedings that lasted nearly 300 hours and two months of talk.
The Unraveling of the EXW Crypto Fraud Scheme
According to reports, the fraudsters’ lifestyles were accompanied by spending time at luxury clubs in Dubai and taking private jets. They bought a shark tank for a villa in Bali, which would waste off, proving their lavish expenditure. The report admitted that more than $100,000 was spent on sex workers, emphasizing the level of their criminality.
In the Dubai-based scheme, stolen funds were brought back to Austria in plastic bags. Austrian prosecutors indicted eight individuals concerning the EXW scam in September 2023, with more charges added in subsequent months. An extradition agreement between Austria and the United Arab Emirates did not exist, and the charges came at crucial moments when some fled and others voluntarily turned themselves over.
In December 2023, Benjamin Herzog, one of the two founders of EXW Wallet, pleaded guilty to related charges. The recent verdict has convicted some of those planning to appeal their sentences.
EXW Wallet was launched in late 2019, offering 0.1%—0.32% daily returns on purchases of EXW tokens. In 2020, the scheme collapsed, costing investors significant financial losses. Some of the defendants are also being investigated in connection with a cannabis-related fraud case that allegedly resulted in $17.2 million in losses from approximately 17,000 victims.
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