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GemCoin Founder Sentenced to 10 Years for $147M Crypto Scheme
The judge scheduled a restitution hearing for victim investors for this summer.
By Danny Nelson
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:54 a.m. Published Jan 11, 2021, 11:12 p.m.
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Gemcoin founder Steve Chen was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison for defrauding tens of thousands of investors in one of the largest and earliest cryptocurrency investment schemes.
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Chen, 63, admitted last February to running U.S. Fine Investment Arts (USFIA) and peddling $147 million in "gem coins" (crypto purportedly backed by gems) to over 70,000 investors from 2013 through 2015. Prosecutors have described USFIA as a Ponzi scheme and a multi-level marketing scheme.
His guilty plea on one count of tax evasion and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carried a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence. Judge John F. Walter additionally ordered Chen to pay the IRS $1,885,094 in back taxes.
Chen's sentencing is wrapped up but his case is far from over. The judge scheduled a restitution hearing for July to discuss making Chen's victim investors whole.
See also: ‘Gemcoin’ Ponzi Scheme Operator Hit With $74 Million Judgment
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