EmpiresX Head Trader Pleads Guilty to a $100M Crypto Ponzi

The US DOJ stated that Nicholas now faces a potential prison sentence of five years and the sentencing date is not yet scheduled.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that EmpiresX’s head trader based in Florida pleaded guilty to a $100M global crypto investment ponzi scheme.

According to the statement, “Joshua David Nicholas, 28, of Stuart, was the “Head Trader” for EmpiresX, a purported cryptocurrency platform.”

In July, the US DOJ charged six individuals in a crypto Ponzi worth $100M filed in 4 different cases. The six accused were Le Anh Tuan, Emerson Pires, Flavio Goncalves, Joshua David Nicholas, Michael Alan Stollery, and David Saffron out of which Nicholas has now pleaded guilty.

Nicholas acknowledged that he and others deceitfully advertised EmpiresX by giving investors and prospective investors false information about a putative proprietary trading bot and fraudulent “guaranteed” returns.

Nicholas and his accomplices asserted that EmpiresX ran a trading bot that combined human and artificial intelligence to increase profits for investors. Instead, by using funds collected from later EmpiresX investors to compensate earlier investors, EmpiresX ran a Ponzi scheme.

Additionally, despite claims to the contrary, EmpiresX never registered its investment program as an offering and sale of securities with the U.S. or took any measures to do so.

As a consequence of entering a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to conduct securities fraud, Nicholas now faces a potential prison sentence of five years. There isn’t currently a set time for the sentencing.

“A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors” the announcement notes.