Share this article
Crypto Fraudster Who Robbed 3,500 Victims of Over $16M Pleads Guilty
Roger Nils-Jones Karlsson, 45, communicated with his victims encouraging their investment in various fictitious schemes.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:21 p.m. Published Mar 4, 2021, 10:08 p.m.
A Swedish man has pled guilty to charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering that defrauded upward of 3,500 victims of more than $16 million in crypto.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
- Roger Nils-Jonas Karlsson, 45, communicated with his victims, encouraging them to invest in various fictitious schemes, according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice Thursday.
- Karlsson directed his victims to make their investments using cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and has admitted to defrauding no fewer than 3,575 victims of more than $16 million between November 2012 and June 2019.
- Operating under several aliases, Karlsson used the website of his company, Eastern Metal Securities, to advertise investment in a "Pre Funded Reversed Pension Plan" at $98 per share where investors would receive payout of 1.15 kilograms of gold per share.
- Karlsson's arrest in Thailand in June 2019 was followed by his extradition to the United States and his indictment the following month.
- The charges of fraud and money laundering each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 and $500,000 respectively.
See also: Crypto Crime Siphoned Off Nearly $10.5B in 2020: Research
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
DOT Sinks 2% After Breaking Key Support
The Polkadot token erased earlier gains amid elevated volume, falling from a high of $2.09 to $1.97.
What to know:
- DOT collapsed through ascending trendline support around the $2.05 level on a massive 284% volume surge.
- The token broke decisively below the support level to trade 2% lower over the last 24 hours.
Top Stories
