Reporting by the Manila Bulletin said the Filipino Bureau of Immigration (BI) has deported a Korean citizen who was accused of playing a part in a Bitcoin fraud scheme.

According to BI Chief Bobby Raquepo, Go Yongsung allegedly worked with five other people to steal more than $33 million from Korean citizens. The fraudsters allegedly ran a pyramid scheme where they enticed people to buy non-existent Bitcoins.

The suspects involved allegedly promised victims they would reap big profits on their investments.

Work By Authorities Continues

BI Commissioner Jamie Morente also said a Chinese national was arrested and would be deported for alleged involvement in economic crimes. It was not entirely clear if the two schemes were related.

Chief Raquepo maintained that foreign criminals who were hiding out in the Philippines would eventually be caught “by the long arm of the law” and sent back to their homelands.

According to The Next Web, Filipino police are actively searching for others involved in the Bitcoin scam.

Crypto Pyramid Schemes Becoming Common

Pyramid schemes involving cryptocurrency have become more of a popular strategy for fraudsters and swindlers in the last year.

In April, CryptoGlobe reported on two South Korean men who allegedly stole around $18.7 million dollars through a cryptocurrency pyramid scheme.

The two were each given multi-million dollar fines since the scheme was deemed to be a “risk to the socioeconomic order with mass production of many victims.”

Just a few days before, authorities in China announced the arrest of nine suspects who were accused of stealing more than $13 million through a pyramid scheme.

The criminals allegedly sold a cryptocurrency for $0.48 per token and then promised investors they would get a $13,000 daily return.

Perceptions that cryptocurrencies in general are some sort of a scam is a line of thinking that has also been established among some people. A July survey carried out in South Africa found that 43% of respondents likened cryptocurrencies to a pyramid scheme.

 

Featured Image Credit: “Scam” by “Nick Youngson” via Alpha Stock Images; licensed under “CC BY 3.0”