$150M Crypto Fraud Fugitive Disable Ankle Monitor

German National Accused of $150 Million Crypto Fraud Goes Fugitive

Horst Jicha, a German national facing charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering related to the USI Tech Cryptocurrency scheme, has become a fugitive after failing to appear in court. According to Cryptocurrency-fraud-fugitive.html" target="_blank">CNBC, Jicha is suspected of tampering with his ankle monitor, which led to Pretrial Services noticing it had stopped working. Despite being directed to visit their office via email, Jicha did not respond to the notification.

It wasn't until over a day later that Pretrial Services informed prosecutors about Jicha's ankle monitor malfunction. In response to his absence from court, the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office spokesperson, John Marzulli, stated that there is an active investigation underway to locate and apprehend him.

Jicha had been out on a $5 million bond, secured by his domestic partner, children, and three others, which will now be forfeited due to his flight.

What was USI Tech?

USI Tech was the platform that Jicha allegedly operated as part of a multilevel marketing scheme aimed at defrauding U.S. investors interested in the Crypto Market. In a statement released in January 2024, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace described USI Tech as a facade that guaranteed returns to investors but ended up being a front for fraudulent activities.

Prosecutors claim that once questions arose about the legitimacy of the platform, Jicha disappeared with more than $150 million of investors' funds, primarily held in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Jicha was subsequently placed under house arrest and required to surrender all travel documents and passports to authorities as a condition of his release.