The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has charged Grant Colthup, the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Mine Digital, with misappropriating 2.2 million Australian dollars ($1.47 million) from a client who was attempting to purchase Bitcoin.
Experts estimate that the value of the Bitcoin could have risen to $4-5.24 million at the time of the charges. However, the funds were never credited to the client’s account. Instead, the money was used to settle company debts or purchase cryptocurrency for other parties.
The transaction took place two months before Mine Digital declared bankruptcy in September 2022. The exchange had been operating since May 2019. Investigators found that the recipient account, ACCE Australia, held only $20,000, far less than the $16 million owed to creditors.
Grant Colthup faces up to 20 years in prison on fraud charges. The court hearing is scheduled for December 16, 2024.
In a related case, in October 2024, a Las Vegas court sentenced 86-year-old former attorney David Cagle from California to a five-year suspended sentence for his role in organizing a cryptocurrency pyramid scheme. He is ordered to pay $13.95 million in restitution to victims.
