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Egyptian police reportedly recently arrested 29 people in connection with the Hoggpool cryptocurrency mining app scam. In addition to seizing 95 cell phones and 3,367 SIM cards, police said $194,000 worth of domestic and foreign currency was found during the arrests. According to a lawyer representing more than 1,000 victims, as many as 800,000 people may have fallen victim to the scam.
88 Digital Currency Wallets Used to Receive Funds From Investors
Egyptian police recently arrested 29 people they suspect are the masterminds of Hoggpool’s cryptocurrency investment scam, a report says. During the arrests, the police reportedly confiscated a total of 95 cell phones and 3,367 SIM cards. $194,000 worth of domestic and foreign currency was also found, the report added.
According to a CBS News report quoting from a statement issued by the police, the suspected mastermind behind the fraudulent cryptocurrency mining app used a total of 88 digital currency wallets to receive funds from investors. Once the funds are received, the criminal gang then redistributes them to 9,965 digital wallets. The funds are then converted to BTC before being taken overseas.
While the police statement claimed that Hoggpool fraudsters had defrauded investors as much as $615,000 (19 million pounds), many in Egypt insist the figure is much higher. Abdulaziz Hussein, a lawyer representing over a thousand victims from Cairo alone, was cited in the report as suggesting that as many as 800,000 people may have been duped.
Use of False Documents
Even though the use or trading of cryptocurrencies is prohibited in Egypt, the masterminds of the Hoggpool scam are reportedly able to lure victims by promising very high returns on investment. For example, according to a CBS report, potential investors are offered investment options that range from one with an initial outlay of $10 and daily payouts of $1, to investors paying $800 to acquire a mining machine that pays $55 per day.
In addition to promises of high returns on investment, alleged fraudsters have also been accused of using fake documents to lure unsuspecting victims. One such document is the so-called certificate of fact of good standing that is supposed to be issued to Hoggpool by the Office of the US state Secretary of State of Colorado.
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