PANews reported on October 24 that according to Protos, a cryptocurrency and real estate Ponzi scheme involving $16 million occurred in Austria, resulting in five people being sentenced. The scam deceived a total of 40,000 victims, and the suspects squandered large sums of money on luxury cars, private jets, nightclubs, shark tanks and other luxury consumption. The case was tried in the Klagenfurt Regional Court for 60 days and is one of the largest fraud cases in Austria's history. The 11 suspects are from Austria, Croatia and Italy, including the 24-year-old stepson of an unnamed celebrity. The stepson is said to have spent 100,000 euros (about $108,000) on sex transactions.
The police said that the criminal gang used plastic bags to transport cash, shoe boxes to hide money and transferred money through encryption platforms, making it extremely difficult to track the funds. At present, five suspects have been sentenced to 18 months to 5 years in prison, and another five have been acquitted.
