Reported CabbageTech Crypto Fraudster Indicted – Details
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York unveiled a nine-count indictment against Patrick McDonnell.
Following his arrest, McDonnell the owner and operators of purported investment firm CabbageTech was charged with nine counts of wire fraud in connection with an alleged plan to defraud cryptocurrency investors. Donoghue said:
“As alleged, the defendant defrauded investors by making false promises and sending them fraudulent balance statements, hiding the fact that he was stealing their money for his personal use.”
According to the statement, McDonnell used “smoke and mirrors” between November 2014 and January 2018 to defraud investors by portraying himself as an experienced cryptocurrency trader, promising trading advice, and buying and trading crypto on their behalf.
According to the DoJ, neither McDonnell nor CabbageTech provided investment services, rather he allegedly used investors’ funds for his own purposes and sent clients falsified balance records. When clients requested to withdraw their funds, McDonnell purportedly made excuses for why he could not pay them at the time. McDonnell also allegedly operated under an alias as “Jason Flack.”
McDonnell reportedly defrauded investors of $194,000 in U.S. dollars, 4.41 Bitcoin ($17,551), 206 Litecoin ($12,215), 620 Ethereum Classic ($2,914) and 1,342,634 Verge ($9,035). He faces 20 years in prison if found guilty.