USI Tech Director Arrested on Charges of $150 Million Crypto Fraud

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A Brooklyn federal court has issued an arrest warrant for the director of USI Tech on charges of defrauding investors, money laundering and wire fraud.

Horst Jicha, prosecutors allege, advertised a highly profitable crypto investment scheme for beginners through the company USI Tech. The indictment alleges that he defrauded unsophisticated investors from the United States and Canada of more than $150 million with promises of daily income from investments in crypto assets of 1% or more.

According to investigators, the cryptocurrency pyramid collapsed after US and Canadian regulators sent USI Tech demands to cease illegal activities and the sale of unregistered securities. After which Horst Yiha, according to the prosecutor’s office, appropriated the investors’ assets and left the United States.

“Defendant Horst Jiha used a multi-level marketing scheme to defraud American investors in the digital asset market. Although the defendant has not returned to the United States for five years, our office and the FBI worked to bring the defendant to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.

64-year-old German citizen Horst Jiha was detained by law enforcement at the airport shortly before Christmas while trying to fly to Miami on vacation.

 

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USI-Tech Crypto Scheme Founder Escapes House Arrest

A man under house arrest for his alleged role in a $180 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme is apparently on the run after tampering with his ankle monitor, according to New York prosecutors.

Horst Jicha, the former CEO of alleged cryptocurrency mining and trading company USI-Tech, allegedly “tampered with his ankle monitor” on Oct. 4 and “fled in violation of pretrial detention,” a court filing on Oct. 10 said.

Pretrial detention alerted the government about 12 hours after Jicha’s ankle monitor stopped working and almost immediately sought a warrant for the fugitive’s arrest.

Jicha, a German citizen, was arrested on Dec. 23, 2023, in Miami, Florida, after entering the United States for the first time in more than five years to vacation there.

He hasn’t been to the U.S. since leaving the country in 2018 after receiving cease-and-desist letters from U.S. authorities.

Jicha was placed under house arrest in New York on $5 million bail guaranteed by his partner and children, CNBC reported on Oct. 11.

“There’s a very active investigation underway to apprehend him,” John Marzulli, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, told CNBC.

The 64-year-old was also forced to surrender his German passport in December, so attempting to flee the country could prove difficult.

His trial is set for March 31, where he faces multiple securities fraud and money laundering charges related to his alleged involvement in USI-Tech.

Cointelegraph reached out to Jicha’s attorneys but did not immediately receive a response.

Related: Montenegro Arrests Executive Suspected of $21 Million Cryptocurrency Fraud

Prosecutors allege that Jicha promised investors they would earn 1% returns on their investments daily by participating in the USI-Tech mining and trading scheme.

New York authorities allege that 1,774 bitcoins (BTC) and 28,589 ethers (ETH) — worth more than $180 million at current prices — are missing from the alleged USI-Tech fraud scheme.

Prosecutors allege that Jicha transferred those funds to a cryptocurrency exchange deposit address controlled by Jicha, prosecutors allege.

USI-Tech was allegedly founded in Europe in May 2017 and “aggressively” marketed to U.S. investors a few months later.

Following an investigation by US authorities, USI-Tech closed on January 8, 2018, blaming investors for making misleading comments about USI-Tech products.

Investors were unable to withdraw funds from the USI-Tech portal.

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