Two men who admitted to operating a cryptocurrency scheme and defrauding over £1.5 million ($2 million) through cold calling have been sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) stated on Friday that the sentencing took place at London's Central Criminal Court after the scheme operators Raymondip Bedi and Patrick Mavanga pleaded guilty to multiple charges in November.
Bedi was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months in prison, while Mavanga received a sentence of 6 years and 6 months.
Steve Smart, the joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said at the time of the men's conviction in November: "Bedi and Mavanga lured investors with promises of high returns on cryptocurrency investments, but their scheme was nothing more than a callous scam."
The FCA indicated that between February 2017 and June 2019, the two were members of a gang that called people, directing them to "a seemingly professional website where they were offered high returns on fake cryptocurrency investments."
During this period, they successfully defrauded at least 65 investors, with the total amount just exceeding £1.54 million ($2.1 million).
The funds were sent to companies they operated—Astaria Group LLP, CCX Capital, and authorized clone versions of Ian Buckley Financial Services and Capital Partners Group.
The FCA noted that in Friday's sentencing, Judge Griffiths of Southwark Crown Court remarked that Bedi and Mavanga "were both principal participants in a conspiracy that persuaded victims to invest in cryptocurrency consultancy."
He reportedly told the two: "You conspired to seriously undermine the regulatory system."
FCA's Smart stated that the two "ruthlessly scammed dozens of innocent victims, and these prison sentences are justified."
The two were initially charged in April 2023. The FCA indicated last November that Bedi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to contravene UK financial services laws.
Mavanga similarly pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to contravene financial laws, while also admitting to possessing false identification with improper intent.
He was also found guilty by a jury of obstructing justice by deleting phone recordings after Bedi's arrest in March 2019.
The FCA stated that the jury did not reach a verdict on a third unnamed defendant, who will face a retrial in September, while a fourth defendant related to the scheme, Rowena Bedi, was found not guilty of a single money laundering charge.
Related: Solana bot on GitHub reported to steal users' cryptocurrency
Original article: “UK Sentences 2 Men to Prison Over $2M Cold Calling Crypto Scam”
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